This Futsalroos ‘one of the strongest ever’: Varela

Futsalroos coach Rob Varela is in no doubt the players he’ll take to Colombia for September’s Futsal World Cup are one of the most talented groups he’s seen as the squad continue its preparations with a two-day training camp at Football NSW’s Valentine Sports Park this weekend.

The squad will leave in late August, playing a series of friendly matches ahead of their World Cup opener against Mozambique in Bucaramanga on September 11.

And with a squad of 25 players that needs to be reduced to 14 for the event, Varela has plenty to ponder ahead of a group that also includes Brazil and Ukraine.

“It’s a good position to be in,” the Aussie coach said on Monday.

“I truly believe this could be one of the strongest Australian sides we have ever sent abroad to a major tournament.

"I have 25 really good players to select from and I have to reduce that number.

"The quality of the squad is excellent and it will be a headache of the good kind to make our final selection as to who will be on the plane to South America.

"We have set the players certain performance indicators as well as individual areas of improvement which I can use to help with the final selections.”

The Futsalroos will have a two-day camp at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney on July 16 and 17.

“It’s important for us to get together as often as we can ahead of departure for Colombia of course,” he added.

“We have a number of sessions planned, both in Sydney and Melbourne including the forthcoming two-day camp, in which we will work on certain set-ups and start to implement a strategy that can get us positive results.

"At the camp we want to recreate what we will be doing in Colombia in the days between games: recovery, targeted training and video analysis.

"We also have a couple of nice surprises up our sleeves for the players," he added without revealing what this was.

“We are very much focused on that opening match against Mozambique and the subsequent fixtures with Brazil and Ukraine.

"We have an idea of what to expect from each of our opponents and we will be discussing the best ways to approach each match and developing a style that will enable us to achieve the best possible return we can.

Whilst Mozambique provides a tough opening match for the Futsalroos there is no doubt that the camp are confident that they can kick-off their tournament with a good result.

“I have seen some video footage of the Mozambique team and they look like a very good side,” Varela commented.

“They have a team that has a number of good individuals with excellent technique, but then again, so do we.

"We will be working as much on the players self-belief as their physical preparation as it’s important in the context of a tournament that players do not mentally burn out."

The Aussie coach added: "We are certainly not going to be under-prepared when we leave these shores.”