Qantas Futsalroos name AFC Futsal Championship 2012 squad
1 from VIC, 2 from QLD and the rest from NSW
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, Thailand
International Friendly
Thailand v Qantas Futsalroos
5:00 PM (8:00pm AEST), 20 May 2012
Kiraves 1 Stadium, Suphaburi, Thailand
8 Comments
May 11, 2012, 9:16 pm
Hmm some interestIng selections here. Or should i say non selections??? Fulton and Shervin don’t get starts… two of the best young talents this country has!! Coach knows best I suppose…
May 12, 2012, 11:31 am
That team is AWESOME!! Really! Definitely the best team we’ve sent in years! Kudos to the coaching staff! Some of those inclusions are outstanding! Especially the exclusions of Fulton and Adeli, two of the most promising young players in Australia who have proven they can compete at that level.. And it makes us proud to know how hard the boys have worked! (Let us know how Fernando goes with his first training session this weekend!)
May 12, 2012, 1:14 pm
Cierre13:
“Some of those inclusions are outstanding! Especially the exclusions of Fulton and Adeli, two of the most promising young players in Australia who have proven they can compete at that level..”
are you saying by excluding these players the list is outstanding?
May 16, 2012, 4:23 pm
All the best to the Futsalroos for the last round of the AFC Qualifiers!! The Team line up looks absolute quality, fast, mobile, agile and experienced!!
Led by Knighty and Rob who are two of the best Coaches in the Country!!
May 19, 2012, 12:24 am
4-3 loss in Friendly against Thailand but Futsalroos had 2 shots cleared off the line in the last minute. Boys played well scoring first early but were 3-1 down at one stage.
May 19, 2012, 11:02 am
Great result. Thailand are ranked #11 in the world and #2 in Asia. Watching the boys train the last 2 mths I saw a big improvement in both play and fitness. This clearly showed in last nights results and this bodes well for the AFC Championship. Goodluck guys
May 21, 2012, 2:44 pm
Futsalroos lost the second match 2-4.
Write up on FFA website on first match.
Qantas Futsalroos have been narrowly defeated by Thailand 3-4 in an international Friendly in Suphaburi, Thailand.
ACT goalkeeper, Angelo Konstantinou was drafted into the Qantas Futsalroos squad last week to replace fellow custodian Gavin O’Brien who has an ankle injury.
All 14 squad players were on the match sheet and played in the game, with only Konstantinou not getting any court time.
The Qantas Futsalroos got off to the perfect start in the second minute when Tobias Seeto pinched the ball launching into a counter attack, Danny Ngaluafe then squared up the ball to Chris Zeballos in a 2 on 1 situation and made no mistake in hitting the back of the net.
On the 4 minute mark Thailand equalized. Crisp passing at the back lead into a well executed movement which left a diagonal ball being passed across the face of the Qantas Futsalroos goal for a back post tap in.
Thailand scored 2 more goals before the break going in with a 3-1 advantage. Thailand’s planned attacking movements were causing the Qantas Futsalroos defence problems.
Qantas Futsalroos Head Coach Steve Knight made a few tactical changes for the second half and Australia came out with a better understanding of Thailand’s movement patterns.
The Qantas Futsalroos came back into the match and with quicker ball movement and started to cause the opposition problems with the resulting freedom in attack.
11 minutes into the second half Fernando De Moraes brought the Qantas
Futsalroos back into the game. Greg Giovenali played the ball into Danny Ngaluafe’s feet on the edge of the Thailand D. Ngaluafe backed into his Thai defender and rolled the ball out to the advancing De Moraes who made no mistake in blasting his shot onto the cross bar and into the back of the net.
With 5 minutes to go Danny Ngaluafe equalised with a well finished move capitalising from a Thailand mistake. Ngaluafe passed to Wright down the left hand side who took a first time shot, the Thai keeper made a save but Ngaluafe, who continued his run, picked up the scraps to volley home past the scrambling custodian.
Shortly after, Thailand again took the lead with a cheeky goal. Building up from the back a ball was played into the target with pace, Qantas Futsalroos goalkeeper Peter Spathis came out to close down the Thai player but a neat flick left Spathis in no man’s land as the chip got up and down and rolled into the net.
The Qantas Futsalroos had numerous chances in the dying minutes. De Moraes stole the ball off the Thai goalkeeper near the half way line only to have his shot cleared off the line. With 40 seconds to go De Moraes was fouled just inside the attacking half. Knight called a timeout and the following set piece play caused the Thai defence problems which led to a back post shot from Gomez which unfortunately missed the target.
Following the match, Knight was happy with his team’s performance and paid tribute to the support from his player’s state league clubs.
“I was impressed with how the players performed throughout the game. This practise match served its purpose in identifying areas we need to improve on before the tournament begins in Dubai. Although we matched with a team that I think will do well at the world cup we need to stay grounded and focus on our goal at the AFC Championships”.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank South Melbourne FC, Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Mount Druitt Town Rangers and GHFA Spirit for their support in allowing their players to join the squad for the championships,” concluded Knight.
The Qantas Futsalroos will play another friendly match against Thailand on Sunday 20 May before heading to the UAE for the AFC Futsal Championship 2012.
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 play Thailand again in another international on Sunday 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.
May 22, 2012, 3:10 pm
SecoThe Qantas Futsalroos have been defeated 4-2 by Thailand in their second international friendly match in Suphaburi, Thailand.
After narrowly being beaten by the highly ranked Thais on Friday evening, the Qantas Futsalroos came into Sunday’s match with nothing to lose and plenty to gain.
After a goalless opening ten minutes, Thailand opened the scoring through Suprapong Thompa whose shot was initially saved by Qantas Futsalroos goalkeeper Angelo Konstantinou but dribbled over the line as Konstantinou scrambled to make the recovery save.
Thailand doubled their lead less than a minute later when they intercepted of a throw from Konstantinou in the middle of the court. This gave Thailand a three-against-two opportunity and they moved swiftly from middle of the court into the corner and played a square ball to the back post for Konghla Lekka who made no mistake with his tap in.
Three minutes later the Qantas Futsalroos equalised following some good build up play from the back. Greg Giovenali played a through ball in behind the Thai defence for Danny Ngaluafe. Ngaluafe’s first time shot beat the rushing Thai keeper.
The Qantas Futsalroos equalised in the final minute of the half when Fernando De Moraes was played in down the line, beat his defender and then put a square ball across the top of the D to find Renagi Ingram, who took one touch and then hit his shot hit the roof of the net.
Seconds later, Thailand took back the lead after the Qantas Futsalroos conceded their sixth foul of the match, which resulted in a 10m penalty. Suprapong Thompa made no mistake in converting it just before the half-time whistle.
The Qantas Futsalroos dominated the majority of the second half and put the Thai team under a lot of pressure, but five minutes in Thailand hit a deft diagonal pass to the Qantas Futsalroos back post, which was easily tapped in to seal the win.
Any hopes of a Qantas Futsalroos come back were shattered with three minutes to go when Greg Giovenali was sent off for his second yellow card.
Even with a man down, the Qantas Futsalroos defended well for the next two minutes and prevented Thailand from penetrating with the extra man.
The Qantas Futsalroos had two good chances very late in the game which were saved and both occasions. Thailand were lucky not to concede their sixth foul after a Thai defender brought down Toby Seeto and Fernando De Moraes to bring up fouls four and five respectively.
After the match Qantas Futsalroos head coach Steve Knight was happy with his team’s performance over the two friendly matches and form going into the AFC Futsal Championship.
“The team showed exceptional improvement from the first game and I am very pleased with our performance and the progress we have made,” Knight said.
“We defended so well that we disrupted their attacking game and forced them back towards their goal constantly.
“The number of chances they had on our goal were significantly reduced and resulted in more shots being taken from distance.
“We will now switch our focus to our first match against Qatar and achieving qualification for the quarter final. Our confidence and team harmony is growing and I am pleased with where we are at,” concluded Knight.
The Qantas Futsalroos will now travel to Dubai, UAE to finalise their preparations for the AFC Futsal Championship which begins at the end of the week.
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)
Angelo Konstantinou (gk) (ACT)
Dean Lockhart (NSW)
Danny Ngaluafe (QLD)
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)
nd match writeup on FFA website