Courtesy: englandfutsal.com

England Autumn Fixtures Announced

The FA today announced the autumn fixture programme for the England Futsal Team. England have a busy period as they build up to the FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifiers in Israel at the end of October. In preparation for those qualifiers, the England team will head to Tallinn to play two friendly matches against Estonia on the 16th and 17th October. This is quickly followed by the World Cup qualifiers, where England will face the host’s Israel, Wales and Denmark in Tel-Aviv between the 22nd to 25th October. November will then see Poland visit the Lion’s Den at St Georges Park for two friendly matches on the 14th and 15th November.

England have high ambitions for this autumn’s World Cup Qualifiers and will be hoping to top the group and head through to the Main Round in December in Hungary; but their success in Israel is very much dependent on the quality of their preparation in September and October to ensure that the England players are firing on all cylinders when they arrive in Tel-Aviv.

The England team have a number of training camps during the early stages of the season before they face Estonia. The Estonians may only be ranked 94th place in the World Futsal Rankings, but the last time the two nations faced each other in the UEFA Futsal Euros in 2011, Estonia gave England a nasty fright. On that day in Macedonia, the Estonian underdogs took a two goal lead against the run-of-play and it took all of the resolve of a young England team to bounce back to claim a 3-2 victory. Some of the older heads in the England dressing room who played on that occasion will remind the younger players the threat the Estonians will pose.

Following the World Cup qualifiers, England will welcome a tough Polish team to St Georges Park. Poland are an established futsal nation and are ranked 20 places above England. This will not be for the feint hearted. Poland are a strong and physical side, who are ruthless in front of goal. But England gave the Poles a run for their money the last time the two countries met in Newcastle in 2013, narrowly losing 2-1 and leaving the court feeling rather hard-done-by. The England team will know that teams of the calibre of Poland are beginning to come into their sights, and that they have the ability to win these games against the big nations.

The last time England played was at home to Sweden in February where the Lions stormed to a 7-3 victory against a strong Swedish side. England will be hoping that they can rediscover this momentum during this busy autumn period. Although the absence of senior players will not necessarily help them: captain Ben Mortlock is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury, goalkeeper James Dalton having moved to Australia and Will Rooke facing a lengthy spell on the touch line with injury. It will certainly test the strength in depth of the England programme and it will present opportunities for some young players to come through and challenge for a place in the senior team. An interesting few months lie ahead for the England Futsal Team.






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