| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam national futsal coach Qusmaini Noor Haji Rusli will be taking a game at a time when his side makes its debut at the upcoming Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-20 Futsal Championship in Bangkok next week.
Qusmaini insisted that his newly-established side would not be pushovers and would seek to win as many matches as possible.
“We’ll try to provide a good challenge. If everything goes well, these players could win two or three matches in the group stage,” he said, adding that his players “are equipped with a winning mentality” going into the tournament.
He said he expected group opponents and host nation Thailand to provide a stumbling block.
“We will try to give a good fight,” Qusmaini added.
The players in a group photo before training yesterday. – KHAIRIL HASSAN
Brunei will also entertain Iraq, Malaysia, Bahrain and Afghanistan in Group A.
“We will go for the win against the four other teams. Bahrain is a new team and also unranked, similar to Brunei and Afghanistan,” he said, adding that Abdul Azim Bollhassan and team captain Nazirul Haziq Adeni would be Brunei’s key players.
Qusmaini said he expected the final group game match against Malaysia on May 20 to determine which team would advance to the knockout stage.
The selection process for the team had started in January, involving more than 200 players under the age of 20.
From the initial figure, 25 players were identified to undergo intensive training on February 20.
As part of their preparations, the players also took part in a team building exercise to improve their mental strength with the highlight of their exercise being a gruelling 15km kayaking trip from Serasa to Pelumpong Island.
“In terms of training, I try to apply a new style of play and create a new DNA for the new generation of futsal in Brunei,” said Qusmaini. “I try to create intelligent players.”
Brunei will play warm-up matches against Uzbekistan on May 13 as well as local clubs in Thailand before their group opener against Afghanistan on May 16.
The competition’s finalists will be given automatic berths to represent Asia in the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018.
Futsal will be introduced in the Youth Olympics for the first time.
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