OFC U-19 Championship semi-finals today
By Taromane Martin
HEAD Coach for the country’s national U-19 soccer team Batram Suri says they are confident and looking forward for their semi-final clash with Tahiti today.
Solomon Islands who finished top in Group B will meet host nations Tahiti 2:30pm today at the Stade Pater, Pirae.
Coach Suri said the boys while the atmosphere in their camp is great he knows his side will need to keep their concentration if they are to book a grand final spot against the host nations’ today.
“We need to keep our concentration for the game because obviously Tahiti will have the home support from the crowd who will be cheering them,” he said.
“We have to concentrate on what we are doing, our strategy and plan in how we are going to defend and counter attack them.
“We are all ready for the game; the atmosphere in the camp is great. All of the boys want to play in the semis.
“We are confident and looking forward to challenging Tahiti in the semi-final. All the boys are ready,” he said.
Meanwhile his counterpart, Tahiti coach Bruno Tehaamoana is well aware of the threat the Solomon Islands pose to his side and their ambitions of securing a FIFA U-20 World Cup spot.
“It’ll be 50-50 against the Solomons.
“It’s an incredibly good team, very technical, very quick. We’re trying to put in place a tactical plan to try and thwart them,” he said told OFC media.
The winner of this match will book a spot for Saturday’s grand final match with the winner of the other semi-final match between New Zealand and New Caledonia.
According to FIFA and OFC the winners from both semi-final matches or the grand finalists for this year’s OFC U-19 Championship will qualify and book a spot for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
