Kurukuru, New-Zealand, Vanuatu and Tahiti squads reach the semi-finals of OFC Futsal Championship
The four teams to reach the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Futsal Championship were finalised by the end of the third day matches of the tournament. The Solomon island squad, also known as Kurukuru, are the defending champions of the event and are
looking forward to another straight fourth victory.
Vanuatu and Solomon Islands qualified for the semi-finals earlier on the second day of the championship. Tahiti and New-Zealand joined the two to complete the line-up for the semi-finals going to be played on May 19 at the Vodafone Arena Suva, Fiji.
The first team to qualify for the semi-finals was Vanuatu as they defeated the Kiribati in their opening match by 9-2. Kiribati were making their debut in the championship. In the second match, the Vanuatu squad won over host nation Fiji on the second day
of action by 5-2. Fiji was the runner-up of the last two OFC Futsal Championships.
The second team to qualify for the semi-finals was Solomon Islands as they won over the New Caledonia squad by 13-5 on the first day of matches. In the second fixture of the group rounds they won over the squad from Tahiti by 1-0. The Kurkuru ended-up in
first place by taking down Tuvalu by 16-0 on the third day of the championship.
The Tahitian squad were the third team to reach the semi-finals and they won over Tuvalu on the first day of action. The Tahitians lost against the defending champions Kurukuru in their second match with a close margin of 0-1. On the third day of action
the Tahitian squad ended-up in a draw with New Caledonia. They proceeded to the semi-finals on goal difference as compared to New Caledonia and Tuvalu.
The last team to qualify for the semi-finals was New Zealand. They did not have a smooth start as they were defeated by Solomon Islands in their opening match by 5-13. New Zealand’s Futsal White made a comeback and defeated Tuvalu with a score of 11-1. Futsal
Whites ended up in a draw with Tahiti and progressed to the semi-finals on goal difference.
In the semi-finals, New Zealand will face Tahiti, whereas Solomon Islands will face Vanuatu on May 19.
Tags: