Kurukuru squad returns home today: Futsal News
The Kurukuru Futsal team will be returning home today after winning the 2011 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Futsal Championship. Solomon Islands are known as Kurukuru in the region. The team will then head to Thailand next year for the 2012 FIFA Futsal
Championship.
The team will be received by hundreds of fans at the Henderson Intentional Airport. People have already started to arrive at the airport from other cities of the country. The Kurukuru won the championship for the fourth time and they will be representing
the Oceania region for the second time at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
The spectators have planned to line up in the streets as the team parades through the town along with the winning trophy. The Kurukuru won over the Tahitian squad in the final hurdle of the championship held at Vodafone Arena Suva, Fiji.
The key players of the finals from the Kurukuru squad, who scored the main goals for the team, were Elliot Ragomo and Jack Whetney. The team was down until the end of the first half by 4-1, but these two players brought the team back on track and made them
win the final.
The captain of the team, Ragomo, expressed his joy and said, "We have worked hard for this and we really deserve it. We will make the Solomon Islands and Oceania proud."
New Zealand’s Futsal Whites were defeated by Tahiti in the semi-finals in a penalty shoot-out. They managed to win the third seed by defeating Vanuatu again in a penalty shoot-out. The goal-keeper of the Kiwi squad David Plowright, was the player who saved
the team and made his country win the bronze medal in the championship.
The two finalists of the championship showed notable performances in the group rounds of the championship. Solomon Islands netted a total of 30 goals in the championship and won all group matches in the tournament. The Tahitians only lost their opening match
against Solomon Island by a close score 1-0. The only team that managed to score more goals than the defending champions were New Zealand’s Futsal Whites, who netted a total of 31 goals during the championship.
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