Qantas Australian Men’s Beach Football Team bow out of FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Asian Qualifiers
With as many as 8 NSW based footballers needing a win to progress to the semi-final stage, the Qantas Australian Men’s Beach Football Team got off to a bad start by allowing Oman to score the opening goal in the third minute of the match. Oman doubled their lead, with just seconds remaining in the first period when Nasser Al Mukhaini found the back of the net.
After a scoreless second period, the Qantas Australian Men’s Beach Football Team pulled a goal back early in the third period when Jonathan Cook scored to make it 2-1.
Oman extended their lead shortly after through Jalal and effectively sealed the match two minutes later when Nasser Al Mukhaini scored his second goal. Michael Matricciani scored with six minutes remaining to give the Qantas Australian Men’s Beach Football Team some hope of a fight-back, but unfortunately no additional goals were forthcoming and Oman held on to book a berth in the semi-finals.
Speaking after the match, Qantas Australian Men’s Beach Football Team Head Coach Airton Andrioli was disappointed that his team didn?t progress to the semi-finals, but was proud of their performance over the three matches.
?When you look at the limited amount of preparation and experience we had with the team, we definitely performed way beyond most people?s expectations,? Andrioli said.
?Today was one of those matches. A number of chances didn?t go in and if we had a little more luck, we may have made it to the next round, but that?s football.
?In every match we played over here, we were very competitive against some very experienced opposition.
?The players commitment was outstanding and I couldn?t have asked for anything more from them. They did Australia proud and made a lot of people sit up and take notice of us,? concluded Andrioli.
In the other matches, Iran confirmed their top place in Group B with an 8-2 win over China and Bahrain defeated Japan 3-2 on penalties after scores were locked at 2-2 after extra time. Uzbekistan won their friendly match 8-7 against France.
Japan, Bahrain, Iran and Oman will now progress to the semi-finals stage, with the winners of the each semi-final match advancing to the final and will also qualify for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2009.
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 will be played in Dubai from 16 to 22 November 2009 and involves 16 nations including United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Uruguay, Solomon Islands, Spain, C?te d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Russia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Italy, Brazil, Nigeria and Switzerland.
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Asian Qualifiers
Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
7-11 November 2009
|
Group A |
Group B |
|
Japan |
Iran |
|
Bahrain |
China |
|
Uzbekistan |
Oman |
|
*UAE/France |
Australia |
* UAE and France will play friendly matches against the Group A team who will not play
|
GROUP STAGE |
|||||
|
Date |
Match |
Pitch |
Time (local) |
Result |
|
|
Sat 07/11/09 |
1 |
2 |
3:00pm |
China PR (1:2) Oman |
|
|
Sat 07/11/09 |
2 |
3 |
3:00pm |
Australia (1:3) Iran |
|
|
Sat 07/11/09 |
3 |
2 |
Followed by |
Bahrain (2:1) Uzbekistan |
|
|
Sat 07/11/09 |
4 |
3 |
Followed by |
UAE (4:2) Japan – Friendly |
|
|
Sun 08/11/09 |
5 |
2 |
3:00pm |
Iran (5:3) Oman |
|
|
Sun 08/11/09 |
6 |
3 |
3:00pm |
China PR (1:4) Australia |
|
|
Sun 08/11/09 |
7 |
2 |
Followed by |
Bahrain (1:4) UAE ? Friendly |
|
|
Sun 08/11/09 |
8 |
3 |
Followed by |
Japan (5:3) Uzbekistan |
|
|
Mon 09/11/09 |
9 |
2 |
3:00pm |
Oman (4:2) Australia |
|
|
Mon 09/11/09 |
10 |
3 |
3:00pm |
Iran (8:2) China PR |
|
|
Mon 09/11/09 |
11 |
2 |
Followed by |
Uzbekistan (8:7) France – Friendly |
|
|
Mon 09/11/09 |
12 |
3 |
Followed by |
Japan (2:2) Bahrain (Bahrain won 3-2 on penalties) |
|
|
SEMI FINALS |
|||||
|
Date |
Match |
Pitch |
Time (local) |
Fixture |
|
|
Tue 10/11/09 |
13 |
2 |
3:00pm |
Iran v Japan |
|
|
Tue 10/11/09 |
14 |
2 |
Followed by |
Bahrain v Oman |
|
|
FINALS |
|||||
|
Date |
Match |
Pitch |
Time (local) |
Fixture |
|
|
Wed 11/11/09 |
3rd/4th Play-Off |
Stadium |
4:00pm |
Loser Match 13 v Loser Match 14 |
|
|
Wed 11/11/09 |
Final |
Stadium |
Followed by |
Winner Match 13 v Winner Match 14 |
|
|
|
WC Test |
Stadium |
8:00pm |
UAE v France |
|
Group standings:
|
Group A |
Team |
Points |
F |
A |
GD |
Red Cards |
Yellow Cards |
|
1 |
Bahrain* |
6 |
4 |
3 |
+1 |
1 |
3 |
|
1 |
Japan* |
3 |
7 |
5 |
+2 |
0 |
6 |
|
3 |
Uzbekistan |
0 |
4 |
7 |
-3 |
0 |
5 |
|
Group B |
Team |
Points |
F |
A |
GD |
Red Cards |
Yellow Cards |
|
1 |
Iran* |
9 |
16 |
6 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
|
2 |
Oman* |
6 |
9 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
|
3 |
Australia |
3 |
7 |
8 |
-1 |
1 |
4 |
|
4 |
China |
0 |
3 |
14 |
-11 |
0 |
1 |
*Team has qualified for semi-finals
For more information regarding the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Asian Qualifiers please visit www.beachsoccer.com
Qantas Australian Men?s Beach Football Squad
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Asian Qualifiers
Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
7-11 November 2009.
|
Player |
Club |
|
Stacy Alogdellis |
PCYC Parramatta Eagles |
|
Jim Bakis |
Sutherland Sharks |
|
Jonathon Cook |
South Adelaide Panthers |
|
Peter Crevani |
St George |
|
Joshua Da Palma |
Uncontracted |
|
Ivo De Jesus |
Sydney Wanderers |
|
Steve Karavatakis |
Sutherland Sharks |
|
Andrew Mailer |
Manly United |
|
Danny Martinez |
Sydney Wanderers |
|
Michael Matricciani |
Campbelltown City |
|
Khalil Popal |
Uncontracted |
|
George Souris |
Sutherland Sharks |
