Courtesy: The Malay Mail


Asian championship qualifiers: Trainees to strut their stuff

By GHAZ RAMLI

April 11

THE race for the final 14 places in the national futsal squad has picked up pace as the 23 players display their qualities in the final few days of training camp.

Head coach P. Balakrishnan said all the players have been showing their best during the one-month stint which ends on Thursday.

He will then name the final squad who will be competing in the Asian championship qualifiers in Kuantan, beginning Friday.

“There is still time now and I don’t want to be unfair. The players have every right to fight for a place in the squad and by naming the team early, it may demoralise some of them,” said Balakrishnan, who is in Penang with the squad for a final two-match test.

“Since these are the qualifiers, so we have no room for mistakes or injured players. I will have to pick the best players so we can qualify for the finals,” added Balakrishnan, who took over the job from former coach Brazilian Silvio Machado.

The squad, who are actually based in Petaling Jaya, look to be in top form after winning both their test matches, 9-0 over Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and 12-2 over Armed Forces.

“Although we won both matches, we seem to lack an understanding in attack which we are currently rectifying,” said Balakrishnan.

He added the senior players who competed in Bangkok last year will have to steer the juniors who have yet to play an international game.

“We’ll have to balance the fresh legs with the seasoned ones,” said Balakrishnan.

In goal, Armed Forces’ Zaidi Ramli will most likely get the pick.

“Zaidi will most likely be first choice but the fight for the second choice looks to be a tough decision,” said Balakrishnan.

The top two sides from Kuantan will join four teams from the other two qualifiers for the competition proper in Uzbekistan from May 21-28.

Along with Malaysia in Group A are Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Maldives and Cambodia while Group B comprises South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, North Korea and Australia.

Last year, Malaysia lost 5-2 to Lebanon in the second round.



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