Courtesy: UEFA.com

Hungary hold the advantage

Wednesday, 21 February 2007

Hungary lead Russia by a single goal ahead of their UEFA European Futsal Championship qualifying round Group F decider on Friday after both secured their second win of the mini-tournament in Dabas.

Tóth celebrates century
Group hosts Hungary, who reached the finals for the first time two years ago, began with a 10-2 defeat of Greece and today took on Lithuania, beaten 4-1 by 2005 runners-up Russia. It took eight minutes for Hungary to make a breakthrough, Zsolt Gyurcsány giving them the lead, but it was only with seven minutes left that they doubled the advantage as Szabolcs Tóth celebrated his 100th cap with a goal. One minute from the end János Madarász ensured a 3-0 win, his strike to prove extremely valuable later on.

Hungary ahead
That was because Russia then knew they needed a nine-goal margin of victory against Greece to ensure they would go into first place - but fell one short. Konstantin Maevski and Konstantin Douchkevitch made it 2-0 within four minutes but Sergei Malyshev was the only other scorer before the break. Konstantin Agapov, Sergey Sergeev, Maevski and Marat Azizov increased the lead to sevens with nine minutes to go, and Pavel Kobzar claimed the eighth seven minutes later, but it finished 8-0, so Hungary are ahead of Russia on goals scored. A draw on Friday would take the home team into the finals in Porto, while Russia must win to avoid a first non-qualification at European level.



Courtesy: UEFA.com

Hermans has high hopes

Thursday, 22 February 2007

by Berend Scholten

The Netherlands welcome Finland, Serbia and Azerbaijan to Geleen for UEFA European Futsal Championship qualifying round Group D - running from today until Sunday - and coach Vic Hermans believes his team could be destined for another final round.

Duo return
Hermans led the Dutch to the finals in 2005, where they ran Russia and Ukraine close and defeated hosts the Czech Republic 4-3. His charges have not rested on their laurels since, playing regular friendlies and training every week in Zeist.

Reason to believe
Among their recent results are a 4-3 success against Belgium, two 2-2 draws with Argentina either side of a 2-1 loss, and victory in November's Edegem tournament with comfortable wins against Lithuania and England and another scalp of Belgium. "When I look at the development of my team, I have faith in us succeeding in our mission," said Hermans, whose squad is boosted by the return of Zaïd El Morabiti and Najib El Allouchi from long-term injuries.

Spanish test
The Netherlands have been preparing in Spain where they lost a friendly 5-1 to the professional División de Honor club Martorell FS. "It was fabulous what that team showed us," Hermans said. "We were well beaten. The difference is that they have been training two times a day for years - we have not. In that sense we are far behind."

Respect for rivals
Hermans also has respect for their international rivals. "Against Finland, we will meet opponents who play a powerful brand of futsal but who, at the same time, are not always a solid team. Despite that, Finland are dangerous outsiders," he said. "Azerbaijan, we watched on 18 February when they played a friendly in Turkey. They have a team of fast, technically-skilled players." It is the Netherlands' last match, however, which Hermans believes will be the toughest, as they target a place in the Porto finals next November. "Serbia are the team to beat and the main competitors for qualification," he said. "They have big, strong and individually skilful players."

Tournament win
Serbia are participating as a separate nation for the first time, although the former Yugoslavia qualified for a European finals in 1999 when they drew 1-1 with the Netherlands for their only point. Only narrow defeats by Spain prevented them qualifying in 2001 and 2003, while eventual runners-up Russia denied Serbia and Montenegro two years ago. They returned to action in January and impressed in winning the Rzeszow/Krosno tournament in Poland, holding Ukraine 3-3 then beating hosts Poland 6-3 and Moldova 4-1. Marko Perić was named MVP.

Tough opponents
Azerbaijan have entered every UEFA European Futsal Championship and although still to qualify, they are usually tough opponents; they limited Serbia and Montenegro to a 2-1 win in the last edition. In Monday's friendly in Turkey, watched by Hermans, Azerbaijan prevailed by 6-4, having overcome the same opponents twice in December. Finland, meanwhile, progressed as best runners-up from their preliminary round group last month, finishing behind Turkey on goal difference having drawn 5-5 with that side in between defeats of Armenia and Albania.



Courtesy: UEFA.com

Spain aim to hit ground running

Thursday, 22 February 2007

by Lucy Turner & Igor Panevski

Spain have been leaving nothing to chance as they begin their defence of the UEFA European Futsal Championship in qualifying round Group C, starting today in the Madrid suburb of Pinto.

Training week
Javier Lozano, who two years ago led Spain to victory in Ostrava to add the continental title to the FIFA Futsal World Cup, oversaw an intense week of training in Arnedo to ensure his players achieved top condition for the encounters with F.Y.R. Macedonia, Cyprus and Poland, as they seek a place in the November finals in Porto.

Friendly wins
Lozano, who has called up Álvaro Párraga and Dani Salgado to replace the injured Rafa Muñoz (groin) and Marcelo Dos Reis (calf), led his team in three friendlies last week, beating local club Arnedo Himalaya 15-1, then defeating Paraguay 8-0 and 5-0. In the third-mentioned, El Pozo Murcia FS player Kike won his 100th cap, the fifth player to reach that mark for Spain, including squad-mates Luis Amado and Javi Rodríguez.

'Obligation to qualify'
"We have the obligation to qualify and defend our title," said another experienced player, Andreu. "We don't have much information on our rivals. But [F.Y.R.] Macedonia, as our first opponents, could make us a bit nervous because we want to start well." Lozano added: "The players are all fighting fit and ready for these three tests. It's been a great week and the two Paraguay matches were very good for us. I've seen some good things about the team and now we have to put them to use."

Coach's wish
Lozano, whose charges last lost in December 2005 against Brazil, continued: "Our first objective is to qualify; that's a self-imposed obligation. And our first mission is to win. I also want the fans at the Pabellón Municipal de Pinto to feel satisfied and proud, and associate the image of the Spanish national team with the idea that futsal is an attractive and great game."

Macedonian aim
F.Y.R. Macedonia may be thinking back to 2003, when they opened their campaign against Spain and succumbed 6-0. Last month they lost two friendlies to Croatia, but a win and a draw against Belgium in October shows they at least have a chance of improving on their third seeding in the group. Coach Vasko Skenderovski said: "Spain are favourites as world and European champions. But we will try to take second place, which means a better seeding in our next qualification. Our chance comes in matches against Poland and Cyprus. Third place is realistic, but I hope we will do our best to take second. It's a tough group and we have young players."

Poland keep busy
Poland have had a busy programme of warm-up fixtures, playing 14 times in 2006, including two pairs of victories against Cyprus and F.Y.R. Macedonia. Last month they staged a tournament in Rzeszow and Krosn, overcoming Moldova, going down against Serbia, and holding Ukraine 2-2. Cyprus, meanwhile, advanced from the preliminary round as second-best runners-up, ousting Malta and Georgia before losing to Kazakhstan. Coach Petros Konstantinou has overseen successes against France, England and Finland, but admitted to uefa.com: "We have to be realistic about our chances when we play Spain, who are one of the best in the world. Our chances of a win range from extremely difficult to impossible."



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