Courtesy:
The FA.comDean's England dreamBy
Nicholas VeeversFriday, 19 December 2008The FA Futsal Four Nations Tournament
England, Libya, Lithuania, Republic of Ireland
Sir David Wallace Building, Loughborough University
19- 21 December 2008
England make their return to international Futsal action on Friday evening, with their first home match since last December in The FA Futsal Four Nations Tournament at Loughborough University.
With something of a new look squad in place too, goalkeeper Dean Thornton is already feeling like one of the ‘old heads’ in the camp, despite only making his own Three Lions debut last season.
Thornton is one of only three players in the current group to have won over 10 caps for England, so he knows exactly how some of the new faces will be feeling ahead of Friday’s first game against the Republic of Ireland.
“Last year was my first time involved in Futsal, I’d never really played it before but (former Head Coach) Graeme Dell introduced me to it and I’ve played a lot of matches now and got more used to it,” Thornton revealed to TheFA.com.
“So I know how the new lads feel, to be playing against countries who have been playing it for ten or twenty years and are probably that far ahead of us.
“There were four or five new lads in the squad for the games in France in October and all of them did fantastically when they played, considering it was their first time playing international Futsal.”
With a new Head Coach in place in Peter Sturgess (left), Thornton feels that the team can continue to develop and progress in what are the first home games since last year’s historic first ever international Futsal victory over Greece.
After two games in France earlier this year, squad training sessions have been geared towards making further improvements and Vaughan’s FC ace Thornton admits he still enjoys being involved with the Three Lions.
“I still love being involved with the England squad and it’s good to see all of the new lads coming in and getting involved,” he said.
“But Pete has taught us a lot and what we can do is concentrate on what we’re good at and play Futsal in a certain way and try to get results.”
Friday 19 December
Libya v Lithuania (4pm)
Lindsey School & Community Arts College v FC Enfield (6pm)
Team United v Wellingborough Diamonds FC (6.30pm)
England v Republic of Ireland (7.30pm)
Saturday 20 December
Republic of Ireland v Libya (2.30pm)
Leicestershire & Rutland v Northampton Futsal Club (4.30pm)
Leicestershire & Rutland v Brentford FC Community Sports Trust (5pm)
England v Lithuania (6pm)
Sunday 21 December
Republic of Ireland v Lithuania (12.30pm)
FC Barsa U14s v FC Barsa U13s (2.30pm)
Tibberton United v University of Teesside (3pm)
England v Libya (4pm)
Fans can watch all of the games, with tickets costing £5 for a three-day pass whilst all students and U16s go free.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com