Courtesy: The FA.com


Squad set for World Cup

Thursday, 01 November 2007

World Deaf Futsal Championships
8-18 November 2007
Sofia, Bulgaria

The England Deaf Men Futsal team have finalised their squad line up for the trip to Bulgaria for the World Deaf Futsal Championship, which begins next week in Sofia.

After two impressive performances against European finalists Spain in Madrid last month and then a good victory against English champions Ipswich Wolves, the squad will be travelling east with plenty of confidence and hope for the competition.

It is only the second World Deaf Futsal championship and starts on Thursday 8 November before finishing on Sunday 18 November and England will be looking to improve on their ninth place finish at last year’s European Championship, when they were narrowly eliminated in the group stages on goal difference.

England have been placed in a strong group in this competition too, which will see them feature against experienced countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Slovakia. Other countries include Switzerland, Guinea and Saudi Arabia, who make up the rest of the group.

Head Coach Peter Sturgess has named his final squad of 12 for the trip, having watched various players going through their paces at Lilleshall, achieving their victory again Ipswich Wolves and also performing well in the aforementioned friendlies against Spain.

Sturgess is now confident in the ability of his players to be able to go and match the best of the world, with a mixture of experience and youthfulness in his squad.

There is an international debut for youngster Liam Coventry, who excelled himself in the preparation and has quickly become a rising star for his country, whilst veteran player Brian Green’s experience will be required to give them the edge.

Charlton Athletic’s Steven Wynne has been selected as a second goalkeeper for his first major championship in order to cope with the high demands of the fixture list whilst the remainder of the players featured for the Three Lions at last year’s European Championship and will be looking to recap those experiences on a world level.

Speaking about the preparation so far, Team Manager Jon Smith said: “We have some more work needed to be done before we all set off for Sofia, and I am confident that we will accomplish what we need to do.”

English National Team - Deaf Selection - Players list

Name (Club)

Sam Kitchin (Derby DFC)
Daniel Holdsworth (Derby DFC)
Oliver Monksfield (Fulham DFC)
Ben Lampert (Fulham DFC)
Taljinder Singh (Leeds DFC)
Daniel Hogan (Kickers Futsal Club)
Liam Coventry (Everton DFC)
Brian Green (Leeds DFC)
Rowan Dixon (St John’s Arsenal DFC)
Alistair Dalziel (Derby DFC)
John Atkinson (c) (Derby DFC)
Steven Wynne Charlton Athletic DFC)



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