Futsal Whites coach Marvin Eakins says the upcoming World Cup qualifiers provide New Zealand’s best ever chance of making it to the biggest futsal event on the planet.

New Zealand have never taken part in a FIFA Futsal World Cup but will book a debut appearance by winning the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, the draw for which has just been released.

Eakins side will take on hosts New Caledonia, Vanuatu and American Samoa in Group A of the tournament, which will be held in late October.

Group B features defending champions the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tahiti and Tonga with all eight nations competing for the right to be crowned kings of Oceania and earn a ticket to Lithuania for next year’s big event.

Eakins is expecting a tough challenge but believes he has enough ability at his disposal to create history.

“It’s going to be an exciting group, all of those teams will be pretty challenging and we’ve had good battles with some of them over the years,” says Eakins, who was recently re-appointed as Futsal Whites coach and also overseas player development across the country as Futsal Talent Manager for New Zealand Football.

“This feels like the best opportunity we’ve ever had. We’ve put in some really good work over the last ten years and the players coming through now are at a really good international standard,” he adds.

“So it really is in our hands to grab it and make sure we do everything we can to make that World Cup.”

The Solomon Islands, or ‘Kurukuru’ as they are affectionately known by their fanatical supporters, have traditionally been the benchmark for the small-sided version of the beautiful game in the South Pacific but Eakins feels the Futsal Whites have closed the gap and are capable of knocking them off their perch.

“The Solomon Islands are going to be a great challenge, they've been working pretty hard behind the scenes and have some quality, experienced players who have been to a few World Cups now,” he says.

“We’ve prepared knowing that at some stage we’re going to have to beat them, which we have done in the past, if we want to get to this World Cup. We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve around how we’re going to approach that.”

The Futsal Whites’ most recent taste of international action was last June, when they toured a non-Oceania country for the first ever time to feature in a three-match series against hosts China, Russia and Vietnam.

New Zealand came runners-up at the previous OFC Futsal Nations Cup in 2016, being beaten by only the Solomon Islands to finish second on points in a round-robin format.

The 2019 edition will be held in New Caledonia from 27 October to 2 November with one World Cup berth on offer to Oceania.

OFC Futsal Nations Cup

Group A

New Zealand
New Caledonia
Vanuatu
American Samoa

Group B

Solomon Islands
Fiji
Tahiti
Tonga

Article added: Thursday 09 May 2019