Hale: Tahiti is our team now

The hopes of a nation were dashed overnight as the Solomon Islands were beaten 7-6 in a thrilling showdown with El Salvador which sent the Bilikiki crashing out of the Beach Soccer extravaganza in Papeete.“We believed that we could beat El Salvador, we hoped to win but unfortunately we lost. We have to get behind…

Neither side was keen to concede first in a tension-gripped opening spell but it was the home side that struck first with Tahiti’s Heimanu Taiarui collecting a loose ball at the end of a fine passing movement to give his side the lead.There was controversy when defender Angelo Tchen suffered a sickening head injury in…

The course was officially opened by Vanuatu Football Federation President Lambet Maltock yesterday at Teouma football academy with over 30 participants.“I welcome you all today to Teouma and thank you for your dedication to one of the most important job in football, refereeing.”“I urged you FIFA and amateur referees to wake up and move forward…

The Tiki Toa beat the South American champions in a pre-tournament friendly but Schirinzi says in a competition like the World Cup past results remain in the past.“We have the quality, we have seen that quality. I’m not scared of losing to Argentina, but we saw against Spain that we may be missing some of…

After a heroic win over newcomers Netherlands 2-0 in their opening match, the Bilikiki were stopped short by CONMEBOL champions Argentina in the second game. But as they stepped up training yesterday in preparation for today’s final showdown, play maker James Naka says this is the most important match to date for his side.“We need…