Courtesy: Milwaukee Jornal Sentinel


Japan scores 4-4 tie with U.S. in spirited futsal battle

By CHARLES F. GARDNER

Sept. 12, 2008

Both sides were feeling a sense of urgency as Japan and the United States met in an international futsal match on Friday night at the Kern Center in downtown Milwaukee.

The urgency stems from the calendar; the FIFA Futsal World Cup is scheduled to open in less than three weeks in Rio de Janeiro.

The teams put on a spirited display before an enthusiastic crowd, and Japan managed a 4-4 draw when it scored a goal with its fifth-attacker unit with 35 seconds left in the match.

"We're going to Brazil with the mentality of winning," said U.S. midfielder and team captain Denison Cabral. "Why not? It's going to be a surprise, but it's happened already in different sports. It can happen again.

"We're not here to waste our time. This was a great experience. Both teams benefit from this."

Yoshifumi Maeda scored the tying goal, getting free at the back post to erase a one-goal lead the U.S. had been protecting since early in the second half.

The teams played to a 3-3 tie in an entertaining first half, after the U.S. grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Matthew Stewart and Chile Farias. Japan's Kotaro Inaba scored two goals and showed his flair in dribbling through the Americans' defense to tie the score at 3.

Still, the U.S. grabbed the lead again at 4-3 early in the second half when defender Pat Morris connected off a delicate free-kick touch from Mike Apple.

"It's the little intricacies of the game, like kick-ins or keeping possession or substitutions," said U.S. coach Keith Tozer, also the coach of the Milwaukee Wave. "We've got to get better on the little things.

"It's disappointing. I felt that at 4-3 with 46 seconds to go, we should be able to bring this home. At 2-0, we should have been able to get to 3-0."

Japan will open against powerful Brazil in World Cup play, while the U.S. will be part of a highly competitive Group B featuring Paraguay, Italy, Portugal and Thailand.

The U.S. will play four group matches in the opening round of the 20-team tournament, and the top two teams in the group will move on to the second round.

Former Wave goalkeeper Brett Phillips, a futsal veteran, played in goal against Japan and finished with 11 saves. Phillips is bidding against current Wave goalkeeper Nick Vorberg for a roster spot, with Jeff Richey being assured the other goalkeeper job, Tozer said.

"There's a lot of history I have with Brett," Tozer said of the former Baltimore and St. Louis standout, who retired from professional indoor soccer about a year ago. "I think the one thing this team lacks is a leader, someone who will hold people accountable.

"We need a little bit of 'rats in the farmhouse, so to say.' His leadership means a lot. I think Brett played quite well today."

Tozer said Phillips will play again Saturday against New York Ecuador FC, a team the Americans beat, 10-1, in a morning match on Friday. Vorberg will get the start in a rematch with Japan to conclude the tournament on Sunday.

"Most of these (Japanese) players play in a professional league," Tozer said. "They play futsal all the time. The (club) teams we played in Brazil, they play between 100 to 130 futsal games a year.

"I think some of our guys are hitting the big number of 10. That's not an excuse; that's just reality. But what we have done is gone down to Brazil and had five practices and four games in 6½ days. This is a five-stage rocket, and this is the second stage right now."

Phillips said he was encouraged with the way the U.S. team played, considering it has turned over nearly the entire roster since competing in the 2004 World Cup futsal tournament. Along with Vorberg, defender Joe Hammes and forward Brett Wiesner are representing the Wave on the U.S. roster.

"It's similar to our indoor game, but it's a lot less forgiving," Phillips said of futsal, played with a smaller ball on a basketball-style court, with five players to a side.

"We might have played 30 times in the last four years, and we're playing against guys that play 30 games in six months. That's an uphill battle, and I don't know when we'll get over that hump. But every tournament the U.S. puts a team together, we come and we battle.

"What we don't have in technical ability, we make up in heart. That can't be underestimated when you come into a tournament."






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