Courtesy: Solomon Star News


The Perfect Test

07 September 2016

by Carlos Aruafu

Brazil defeats Kurukuru in friendly

THE country’s national futsal team, Kurukuru on Tuesday tested their strength in a hard battle when they took on the world’s number one side Brazil in their final friendly match.

The match ended with a final score 18-0 in favour of the world champions. The victory proves Brazil dominance in global football.

Despite the defeat, Brazil-born Kurukuru coach Juliano Antonio Schmeling believes it’s a perfect test for their preparations for the World Cup.

He knew the game would be a challenge but was excited with the huge opportunity the match has offered to him and his team.

Although the score-line finished with an 18 goal margin, the Kurukuru did their fans and the country proud as they rubbed shoulders with some of the best players in the world, including Alessandro Rosa Vieira, also known as Falcao.

Kurukuru team captain Elliot Ragomo said they have learnt a lot from the match and are now focusing for the world cup.

“The boys went out there with all they had, we played to our best.

“We learnt a lot from this match.

“There is no better preparation than to feel the might of the world’s number one team, Brazil.

“They pose a different quality and level of play.

“Now we can focus on Colombia where we aim to play three grand finals,” he said.

Solomon Islands is pooled alongside Argentina, Khazakistan and Costa Rica.

Although the top team dominated the match, the Kurukuru had bursts of possession and some close attempts on goal.

Captain Elliot Ragomo and Auckland City FC’s Micah Lea’alafa both had made attempts on goal in the first half but the Brazilian goalkeeper proved his place in the best team in the world, pulling off back-to-back saves.

Jeffery Bule attempted to catch the Brazilians off-guard in the last minutes of the game with an attempt from halfway, but was unfortunate to hit the crossbar.

Kurukuru battled to the last whistle and although the game ended with an 18-0 result, the team walked away proud to improve on their 21-0 loss to Brazil in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008.

The Kurukuru hold their heads high as they approach the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 with experience against the highest ranked team in the world confident that they have prepared themselves for the competition as best as they could.



Courtesy: Solomon Star News


Fans commend Kurukuru

07 September 2016

by Crofton Utukana

Mad Kurukuru’s fans and supporters in the country and abroad has commended our local players for standing tall against Futsal World Champions Brazil despite they lost their friendly match 18-0 on Tuesday.

“Congratulations Kurukuru players and your coaching staff for the great friendly.

“It was unfortunate that you could not contain mighty Brazil in that match, but I believe you can learn from that most valuable experience,’’ a local fan called Star Sports yesterday.

Another caller who also shared his words of encouragement said the boys did well but were not able to find their rhythm because of the fast play by their opponents.

“In fact our boys did fight until the final whistle, which is very encouraging.

“As such I would also like to commend them for the fighting spirit they have displayed,’’ Layton Opaka said.

“I hope our boys will grasp more tactical knowledge in this friendly as they are about to wrap-up their preparations for the FIFA Futsal World,’’ he said.

Opaka also stressed while he joined those who commended the Kurukuru players there are other people who also shared their disagreement on the result.

“While some of us are try to encourage our boys, there are others who commented negatively on our boy’s performance.

“We should be proud of our boy’s performance and should commend them for their hard work.”


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com