Courtesy: UEFA.com


Croatia exploits give Czech meeting high stakes

Group D began with a surprise as Spain were held by Croatia, who now take on the Czech Republic with both teams knowing that victory would book a quarter-final berth.


Thursday 30 January 2014

by Paul Saffer from Antwerp

Prior to UEFA Futsal EURO 2014, both Croatia and the Czech Republic saw their Group D meeting as an effective second-place decider behind Spain. That was before Croatia started the section by holding Spain 3-3.

Croatia led the defending champions 2-1 at half-time on Wednesday and although Spain then took the lead, flying goalkeeper Matija Capar claimed a late equaliser. Now both teams know a quarter-final place will be theirs with victory on Friday.

The Czech Republic will be the last of the 12 finalists to start their campaign, hoping to avoid the 5-4 loss to Croatia that took the 2012 hosts through at their expense two years ago. Coach Tomáš Neumann told UEFA.com: "We travelled from our training camp in Prague on Tuesday. We had good preparations in Finland and in the Czech Republic.

"We are fully ready for the first game against Croatia," added Neumann, who led the Czechs to 2010 bronze but group exits in 2007 and 2012. "We watched the game between Spain and Croatia, but this match for both us and Croatia is the decisive match – the winners will go through as Spain are the big favourites to win the EURO.

"Two years ago in Split we lost to Croatia, but both teams are at the same level. We will fight and we want to win the game. It is a problem that Michal [Mareš] is injured, we only have [his brother] Roman in Belgium. But we have new young players like Michal Seidler, and others."

Before the tournament, many wondered if Croatia could match their home semi-final run two years ago away from their own fans, but after thwarting Spain, forward Tihomir Novak said: "It was very important for us because everyone in Croatia said last time it was in Croatia, and so on, but we are a good team – believe me!"

Novak, whose side have defender Jakov Grcić back from suspension, scored what proved the clinching goal in the thrilling 2012 defeat of these opponents. "We beat the Czech Republic in Croatia in the last EURO and they are a great team," he said.

"We must be prepared and keep our feet on the ground. They have a great team and some great individual players like Mareš. But they are like a team, maybe we have better individuals, but they play as a unit and they are always in the big tournaments. We have a lot of work to do and let's hope we can get to the quarter-finals."



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Slovenia staying grounded for Azerbaijan test

Azerbaijan enter the finals on Friday against a Slovenia team who, in the words of goalscorer Kristjan Čujec, have "done nothing yet" despite upsetting Italy in their Group C opener.

Thursday 30 January 2014

by Wayne Harrison, Paul Saffer & Mikhail Malkin from Antwerp

Following the euphoria that greeted their surprise 3-2 Group C defeat of Italy, the challenge for Slovenia is to ensure they seize their "great opportunity" to qualify for the UEFA Futsal EURO 2014 quarter-finals by getting a positive result against Azerbaijan.

Andrej Dobovičnik's team will seal a place in the last eight if they take a point from their encounter with the 2010 semi-finalists, the nations' first meeting at senior level.

The significance of the Balkan side's success on Wednesday could be seen both during and after the match at the Lotto Arena. Beaten in all seven of their previous finals games – incorporating the 2003, 2010 and 2012 tournaments – Slovenia greeted vital blocks and tackles with roars of delight, while the celebrations that followed the triumph over their Adriatic neighbours showed just what the result meant.

However, Kristjan Čujec, scorer of Slovenia's second goal, told UEFA.com: "It is a great opportunity, but we've not done anything yet. We have to play against Azerbaijan like we did against Italy, then we'll know how we'll go.

"Azerbaijan are very unpredictable and very good. They have naturally talented players; we know them from the UEFA Futsal Cup, playing for Araz Naxçivan. They are talented and strong and mostly play for the same club, so they have to be good."

Azerbaijan arrived in Belgium fresh from 4-1 and 3-0 friendly wins last week in Serbia, the country they lost 9-8 to in a remarkable 2012 fixture, a result that consigned them to a group stage exit. "I am happy with my team," said coach Alesio.

"The team's core is the same as in the last finals in Croatia. We've brought here all of our leaders, including [41-year-old] Biro Jade, who is still very important for us. We also have a few young players within the team, but most of the leading players are still the same."

After the exertions of his charges against the Azzurri, Dobovičnik knows they must recuperate as best they can for a game just 48 hours after their opener. "Azerbaijan are similar of even more experienced than Italy," he explained. "That's why we know we have a very hard match. It's going to be very important how we rest the players and prepare."

The endeavour of Slovenia did not go unnoticed by Alesio. "Slovenia are a very organised team, but they mostly use just five or six players," he said. "It's good for us because they are very tired now. Some of them spent around 30 minutes out of 40 on the pitch. That is why they stayed mostly behind the ball and were not pressing hard. We should control the ball well and not give them possibilities to mount counterattacks."






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com