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Thursday, October 02, 2008

Coach Wai'ia seeks Solomon Kurukuru resolve against the might of Brazil tonight

Solomon Islands coach Victor Wai'ia will ask his players to show resolve as they prepare for a daunting FIFA Futsal World Cup showdown with mighty Brazil tonight.

Solomon Islands lost its opening match in Group A 10-2 to CONCACAF heavyweights Cuba on Tuesday but Wai'ia was philosophical about the defeat.

"The Cuba match was an opportunity to learn about futsal at this level. We need to be more paitent and wait for clear opportunities," Wai'ia said. Solomon Islands took the lead after just 1 minute but everything went downhill rapidly after that as Cuba forced Solomon Islands into errors they quickly capitalised on.

The coach of the Oceania champions remained positive the team would learn something from the experience. With the squad's average age somewhere around 18 years old mark, Wai'ia was certain the team would improve. Solomon Islands is the youngest team at the finals.

"I was happy with the way that Moffat Sika'ae, Ragomo and Wetney played in counter-attack, and Ron Ginio was very good in defence when he came on," Wai'ia said.

The players were also upbeat despite the margin of defeat and were looking forward to the next match. When asked if the loss had affected moral, Phillip Houtaru was candid.

"I just feel happy to play here. The World Cup is such a high standard. I'm not disappointed about the game because this is our first time at the World Cup and we're learing so many new things every day," Houtaru said.

Goalscorer, Eliot Ragomo, was delighted to have scored a double but lamented his earlier penalty miss. Ragomo hobbled off the court nursing his troublesome ankle injury but was determined to be fit for the Brazil match.

"It was amazing to score in the World Cup,' he said, 'I'm happy, but it was because of good team work that it happened. The ankle is a bit painful, but it wasn't going to stop me from playing today and it won't stop me against Brazil.'

The FIFA Futsal World Cup has produced its first shock today as Iran held Spain to a 3-3 draw in Rio de Janeiro on Match Day 2 of the finals. Argentina defeated China 5-0, Guatemala edged Egypt 1-0, while Libya stormed back to snatch a 3-3 draw with Uruguay.

Source: OFC

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