Qantas Futsalroos Head Coach Steve Knight today named his 14-player squad for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 25 May – 1 June 2012.
Qantas Futsalroos Head Coach Steve Knight today named his 14-player squad for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 25 May - 1 June 2012.
Knight is optimistic about his team-s chances at the AFC Futsal Championship which also serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA Futsal World Cup which will be held in Thailand later this year..
“I am extremely pleased with the final selection of players for the Championship. All the players in the extended squad worked very hard over the last few weeks and made the selection process a very difficult one.
“Our first match against Qatar is going to be crucial in the overall context of the tournament and in terms of giving ourselves the best chance to progress to the next round.
“Fortunately we have two matches against Thailand in the lead-up that will assist greatly with our preparations.
“As a group we have spoken about our common goal of qualifying for the World Cup and all the players have been working overtime in the past few months to make that goal a reality,” concluded Knight.
The Qantas Futsalroos have been drawn in Group C for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 and will open their campaign against Qatar at the Al-Shabab Stadium on 25 May, followed by the Korea Republic the next day with their final group match against IR Iran at the Al Wasl Stadium on 27 May.
The top two in each group (eight teams in total) will qualify to the knockout stage (quarterfinals) and the four winners of the quarterfinals will play in the semi-finals. The two winners will advance to the final and the two losing teams will play a 3rd and 4th placing play-off.
The Qantas Futsalroos will prepare for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 with two international friendly matches against Thailand late this month (18 & 20 May) in Suphaburi, Thailand before travelling to the UAE..
The top four teams from the AFC Futsal Championship will qualify for FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand 2012 which will be held from 1-18 November.
Qantas Futsalroos Squad for AFC Futsal Championship 2012 UAE Jarrod Basger (NSW) Fernando De Moraes (VIC) Daniel Fogarty (NSW) Gregory Giovenali (NSW) Andres Gomez (NSW) Renagi Ingram (QLD) Simon Keith (NSW) Dean Lockhart (NSW) Danny Ngaluafe (QLD) Gavin O'Brien (gk) (NSW) Tobias Seeto (NSW) Peter Spathis (gk) (NSW) Lachlan Wright (NSW) Christopher Zeballos (NSW)
Team Officials Steven Knight - Head Coach (NSW) Rob Varela - Assistant Coach (NSW) Roger Cua- Goalkeeper Coach (ACT) Deane Stephens - Physiotherapist (SA) Joel Freeme - Team Manager (FFA)
Upcoming Match Details
International Friendly
Thailand v Qantas Futsalroos 5:00 PM (8:00pm AEST), 18 May 2012 Suphaburi Provincial Sport Stadium (Sinlapa-acha Building), Suphaburi, ThailandInternational Friendly Thailand v Qantas Futsalroos 5:00 PM (8:00pm AEST), 20 May 2012 Kiraves 1 Stadium, Suphaburi, Thailand