Fiji Futsal coach Intiaz Khan describes his teams opening three matches of the OFC Futsal Championships in Suva as ‘crucial’ to their quest to reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup later this year.
The indoor, five-a-side tournament kicks off on Saturday and the host side plays their pacific island neighbours in its first three games and has set their sights set on raking in maximum points from the opening three days play.
Khan is in his first year of coaching though attended two world cups qualifiers as a player in 1996 and 2000. Khan was a member of the Fiji side that lost to Australia 2-1 in ’96.
Khan said that the recently completed Fiji FACT tournament will have an impact on his squad.
“All of my squad were involved in the Fiji FACT and there are some tires legs in the camp,” said Khan. Fatigue will be a factor, at the moment we are just letting the players rest up and relax the muscles.”
The Fiji squad has only one member left over from the Futsal side that contested the last World Cup Qualifier in Australia.
Khan see’s the Vanuatu squad as his biggest threat and said that the amount of Futsal they play compared to Fiji is huge.
“They are like pro footballers for indoor, I think New Zealand will also be very strong.”
“We all know its international level and the whole of Oceania will be competing. We will play our guts out and just try to do our best.”
“I’ll need the support from local fans to be like a sixth player for us.
The inclusion of Lautoka midfielder Alvin Avinesh and Navua’s Siga Ali has been a major boost.
“The two combined well with the other players making us become a stronger unit,” Khan said.
The former Suva rep has been able to assess his sides with the matched played against local teams.
“It has been improving daily and I am happy with the progress,” he said.
Suva defender Mira Sahib and Rewa striker Kamal Hassan are contenders for role of skipper in the week-long tourney.