Courtesy: The Fa

England made to suffer

Thursday, 09 February 2006

England 2-9 Finland

International Friendly
Bisham Abbey
Wednesday 08 February 2006

The England team had another lesson in Futsal at the hand of Finland when they lost their second international friendly in as many days 9-2 last night.

England had been beaten 7-3 in their first meeting at Bisham Abbey on Tuesday evening by the Finns, who are ranked 11 places higher in the world Futsal rankings.

England’s two goals were scored by Salisbury Town’s Alex Haddow in the first half and a penalty from Team Bath’s Mark Canham early in the second half. But a hat-trick from Sebastian Björkstrand of Finland and some superior fitness and clinical finishing saw England hit again by a more experienced side.

Futsal, the UEFA and FIFA recognised version of five-a-side, is a new sport in England and Graeme Dell’s national team is still in its early stages of competition.

In Finland, due to the harsh winter weather, professional and amateur footballers switch to indoor Futsal leagues at this time of year.

“We have managed to get the team together once a month for training which has really helped,” Dell told TheFA.com.

“But we are playing against countries whose teams have been playing Futsal since they were kids. It won’t be for another generation until the players coming through will really know the game and then we will be able to make an impact.”

Sir Trevor Brooking, The FA’s Director of Football, was at the game to watch the progress of the team and gave an interview to BBC’s Football Focus, who will be featuring the internationals in this Saturday’s show.

Also watching both matches were 800 spectators, mainly young players from the Berkshire and Buckinghamshire region who have recently taken up the game.

The England team will next play in a four-team tournament in Sheffield in May.



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