Auckland City player Koprivcic, fresh from picking up the 2011 O-League Golden Ball trophy as the tournament’s best player, will join other current ASB Premiership players including YoungHeart Manawatu’s Greg O’Connor and Hawke’s Bay United pair Lucas da Silva and Marvin Eakins in the squad.
The Futsal Whites squad features seven players who took part in the 2010 OFC Futsal Championship, with new caps going to Koprivcic, his East City Futsal team mate Jakub Sinkora and Capital City Futsal goalkeeper David Plowright, while O’Connor and Nathan Robertson return from the 2008 squad.
New Zealand face a tough road to the FIFA Futsal World Cup, with three-time OFC champions and 2008 World Cup finalists Solomon Islands the favourites to qualify.
Coach Matt Chandler is quietly confident and believes the Futsal Whites have their best ever chance of making it to the World Cup.
“All the Oceania teams are targeting futsal as a great opportunity to qualify for a World Cup so you can imagine the effort and support they will get to achieve their desired outcome,” Chandler says.
“The Solomon Islands have flair, technical ability and passion. Plus the age of the team is young so their movement is outstanding. Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Tahiti will also be strong.”
“But the team that is best organised on and off the court will get there. We have brought some real quality into our side. We have always needed strength and depth to compete at this level and we now have this going into the tournament.”
Skipper Marvin Eakins also thinks the side is well prepared for a shot at the World Cup.
“Every campaign the squad gets stronger and stronger. There is a definite belief that we can make the World Cup,” he says.
“But there are some quality teams also trying to achieve that same goal. The quality in our players physically and mentally will be what gets us through.”
The Futsal Whites are seeded third in the tournament and find themselves in Group A with hosts Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati. The tournament format has been revamped from previous round robin formats and will this year feature semi-finals and a winner-takes-all final.
Fiji and New Zealand contest the opening game of the tournament on May 16.
New Zealand Futsal Whites
Elias BILLEH (GK) – East City
David PLOWRIGHT (GK) – Capital City Futsal
Tariq ASSAD Capital City Futsal
Marvin EAKINS – East City
Miroslav MAJOR – East City
Dylan MANICKUM – East City
Lucas da SILVA – Capital City Futsal
Miroslav MALIVUK – Capital City Futsal
Nathan ROBERTSON – East City
Daniel KOPRIVCIC – East City
Greg O’CONNOR – Red Sox Manawatu
Jakub SINKORA – East City
OFC Futsal Championship 2011
May 16-20 2011
Vodafone Arena, Suva, Fiji
Winner qualifies for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012
Group A: Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Kiribati
Group B: Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Tuvalu
New Zealand schedule:
May 16: Fiji v New Zealand
May 17: Kiribati v New Zealand
May 18: Vanuatu v New Zealand
May 19: Semi finals
May 20: Final and placing playoffs
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz