Fiji U16 coach confident of upset win in OFC final

Fiji U16 coach confident of upset win in OFC final

“Fiji has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. We managed to create it. But we also wanted to win the championship.

Fiji Under-16 football coach Sunil Kumarbelieve it would be an uphill battle for them when they face New Zealand on Sunday in the OFC U16 Championship final in Pape’ete, Tahiti.

Kumar said obviously New Zealand would start as favourites but he believes his side can still cause an upset.

“When we came to this tournament, we said we wanted to create history,” he said.

“Fiji has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. We managed to create it. But we also wanted to win the championship.

“Now we have a dream in front of us to achieve.  I think going into the match, playing with a free mind. We want to give our best shot. There can never be a better or bigger opportunity than this for the boys and for the team.”

Martin Bullock’s New Zealand side is firm favourites having come from a goal down to thump Fiji 7-1 in group play. New Zealand has scored 28 goals and conceded one in four matches.

“We have played Fiji. We obviously won that game. It probably makes us favourites. I think we performed incredibly well. We obviously take things from the group game when we played Fiji. We know how they are going to play,” he said.

“Vice versa, they will probably know how we are going to play. We will work out how we can take advantage of that, playing our game. A final, despite whatever competition it is, club football, international football or whatever. If you are in a tournament and you get to a final, you want to win. We are looking forward to the game.”

 

Feedback: leonec@fijisun.com.fj


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