A sibling trio made their first appearance together for the Solomon Islands on Wednesday in their opening Group B match at the OFC Futsal Cup 2022 in Suva, Fiji.

Junior (21), Elis (22) and Benjamin Mana (20) from the Mataks Football Club helped their side secure a 9-3 victory against New Caledonia.

To make the moment even sweeter, Junior scored a double while Elis and Benjamin netted a goal each in the win.

For Junior and Benjamin, the match was also their national debut for the Solomon Islands.

“I really enjoyed playing that game, it made it even more special to play alongside my brothers,” Junior said.

“We’ve played at club level together but to play at national level is something else.

“The combination we have between us is there, we work well and support each other.

“Off the court, our relationship is like every other brotherhood, sometimes it’s bad and sometimes it’s good (laughs).”

The Mana brothers are a part of the new generation of Solomon Islands futsal.

Paul Laki, Jeffry Bule, Arnold Maeluma, Clifford Misitana, Elliot Ragomo and Elis Mana are the only returning players from the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 extended squad. 

“It’s a privilege to play with players like Elliot (Ragomo) I’ve learned so much already,” Junior said.

“Futsal in the Solomon Islands is growing; we have a lot of players interested and we love it.

“We’re already looking ahead to next year and using this as preparation for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Qualifier.

“I’d like to say thank you to OFC for the opportunity to play in this tournament.”

The Solomon Islands take on Samoa in their second Group B match on Thursday, 6.00pm local time which was rescheduled from Match Day 1.

Click here to watch