 |
| China futsal team huddle before their game against Tajikistan. |
BANGKOK – Farinha was surprised by the margin of victory as his China side opened their AFC Futsal Championship campaign in fine style with a 9-0 defeat of Tajikistan.
China, who only defeated Tajikistan 1-0 at the Asia Indoor Games, eased to victory with Zhang Xiao and Li Xin each scoring twice and Liang Shuang, Hu Jie, Wu Zhuoxi, Zhang Jiong and Zhang Xi also on target.
“I did not expect a goal difference like this,” said Farinha. “I'm very happy - my players did more than I expect so I'm very pleased with them.”
China netted six first-half goals before easing off in the second period in a match switched to Nimibutr Stadium due to a leaking roof at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.
And the quick start was key, according to Farinha.
“I have asked many times for us to start well and to press the opponent from the very beginning and they did that wonderfully well,” he added.
“The good beginning gave us a very good feeling.
“Everyone was moving and shooting and the team work was the main thing.”
China meet Iran on Monday and Farinha knows his team are underdogs.
“Tomorrow is a completely different game and of course Iran are the best team in Asia,” he added.
“But the idea is the same, to try to press them in the very beginning and try to have as good a start as possible.
“Our system will not change.”
Farinha praised his players after the late change in venue.
“The mind preparation was excellent, perfect,” he added.
“During the delay, the players stayed active and concentrated on the game.
“But you could see the change affected Tajikistan – you could see it in their faces.”
Damir Kamaletdinov described Tajikistan's performance as “not good”.
Tajikistan failed to test China goalkeeper Zheng Tao, but showed signs of improvement in the second half.
And Kamaletdinov praised China for their display.
“China today played at a much higher level than Tajikistan,” he said.
“They have improved a lot and have some very good players.
“They are very strong.”
|
