Qantas Futsalroos squad for AFC Futsal Championship 2010

Qantas Futsalroos Head Coach Steven Knight has named a 14-man squad for the upcoming AFC Futsal Championship 2010

Qantas Futsalroos Head Coach Steven Knight has named a 14-man squad for the upcoming AFC Futsal Championship 2010 which will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 23-30 May.

Knight was very happy with the squad he has selected for this tournament.

“The players I have named today are the best available players that we have at the moment,” said Knight

“The key aspect we have worked on in the lead-up to the tournament has been to significantly raise our fitness levels to be competitive against the full-time professional players we will face in Tashkent.

“Our first match against Kuwait will be crucial if we are to have any chance of progressing to the knock-out phase and I am sure that all the players will be up for that challenge.

“Although we are looking to progress as far as possible in this tournament, the experience gained will be very beneficial for the next edition of competition which will also serve as qualifiers for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup,” concluded Knight .

The Qantas Futsalroos have been placed alongside Iran, Kuwait and Tajikistan in Group B for the AFC Futsal Championship 2010.

In the other groups, host nation Uzbekistan has drawn Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Lebanon in Group A, whilst 2008 runner's up Thailand is drawn in Group C with three-time semi-finalists Kyrgyzstan, Korea Republic and Vietnam. Group D includes 2006 winners Japan with Turkmenistan, Iraq and China PR.

The Qantas Futsalroos opening match of the tournament will be against Kuwait on 23 May (kick-off 8pm local, AEST), followed by IR Iran on 24 May (kick-off 8pm local, AEST) with their last group match against Tajikistan on 26 May (kick-off 3pm local, AEST).

The Qantas Futsalroos qualified for the AFC Futsal Championship 2010 after going through the AFC Futsal Championship ASEAN Zone qualifiers, which were played in Jakarta in February, undefeated, accounting for the host nation Indonesia 4-1 in the final.