New Zealand Finished Continental Futsal Championship With a Big Defeat
The Futsal Whites were the only team at the tournament that lost all their games and finished winless in the five-nation tournament.
New Zealand participated in the Continental Futsal Championship for the preparation of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024, but it turned out to be a nightmare for them. While the tournament would have helped them learn a lot, they finished the tournament without any wins.
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In the last game against Kuwait on Friday, the Futsal Whites lost 3-8, with the third goal coming only in the final second of the game.
Kuwait got the lead in the 7th minute of the match when Naser Alalban deflected a ball from Salman Albaeijan into the net. They consolidated it further, with Salman Albaeijan scoring the second goal three minutes later and then Abduaziz Borashed making it 3-0. Naser Alalban again scored just at the half time to make it 4-0.
In the 8th minute of the second half, Alalban made it 5-0 and completed his hat-trick. Saleh Alfadhel bagged a brace scoring two more goals for Kuwait from long range when New Zealand were pushing hard and employed the flying goalkeeper. Abduaziz Almasam scored the last goal for Kuwait, making it 8-0 at one stage.
New Zealand then managed to get their first goal through Jordi Ditfort, with only 9 minutes remaining. Soon after Twigg got an open shot right in front of the goal and scored from outside the goalkeeper’s area. The Futsal Whites managed to make it 8-3 in the last second of the game.
Their results at the tournament have been heart-breaking, but New Zealand would want to use this experience and learn from their mistakes as they head to the World Cup in Uzbekistan.
The Futsal Whites will start their World Cup campaign against Libya on September 15 in Andijan. The other two teams in their group are Spain and Kazakhstan.
