“I would say we are going into the tournament to do our best, and the way the team has prepared with build-up matches in Australia I think we will do wonderful,” says assistant coach Shalendra Lal.
Lal, along with head coach Ravinesh Kumar and techncial advisor Frank Farina, took the squad on a brief tour of Australia ahead of touching down in Auckland, New Zealand.
The side played three matches against Sydney-based teams including an Australia Fiji All Stars squad, the West Sydney Wanderers youth side and an Academy team – recording two wins and a draw.
“The first game we drew against the Sydney team, the second game we played against the local Indian community and managed to win 3-0. The final game we played the Academy team and we were losing 3-1 and we came from behind to win 4-3.”
Lal says the strong resolve which saw the side come from behind to secure a victory is what will help them this week against stronger sides like Amicale FC of Vanuatu and Bahrain club Busaiteen.
“We, the coaching staff, were very happy with what we achieved in Australia and we’re confident the team can repeat those performances here for the President’s Cup,” he says.
“Maybe we aren’t expecting to the win the competition, but we do expect some surprises to come from our matches.”
The side hasn’t been wasting time since becoming Fiji’s first national side to qualify for a FIFA tournament.
“Before going to Australia we had three camps in Fiji,” Lal says.
“We also had build-up matches against the districts and club back there.
“We had sessions with Frank who is bringing a lot of changes to the team – small things – that have really changed the structure of the team.”
As well as working on technique and tactics, the side are being put through their paces fitness wise in an effort to get them up to international standards.
“WE’re preapring them so at least we can get something out of them come next year. I’m sure we’re not going to win the World Cup, but at least we will be going there trying to match the level of the other teams there.”
The opportunity to test themselves at the next level presents itself next week with an opening President’s Cup encounter against 2014 OFC Champions League runners-up Amicale FC.
Lal says it is a chance for the team to measure their improvements over the past few months.
“They’re improving on their technical abilities and this competition will allow them to identify exactly how much. It’s also a chance for us to identify areas requiring further improvement which is important.”
The Fiji U-20 open their OFC President’s Cup campaign at The Trusts Arena against Amicale FC on Monday 17 November at 7.30pm.

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