Solomon Islands enter their sixth OFC U-17 Championship with qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile in October this year at the top of Moli’s wish list.
‘’Our objective for this tournament it is to reach the final,’’ Moli says
It’s a target they achieved in 1993 when they lost 3-0 to Australia in a contest that was much closer than the scoreline suggests. And Moli wants his team to repeat that performance this year.
‘’I think we have the players to win the tournament. It comes down to them. If they go in there and play according to the way we want to (it is possible),’’ he says.
To fulfil their dreams of a second final, the Solomon Islands will rely on their team spirit and attitude on top of good preparation.
‘’The strength of the team at the moment is the way the boys are playing together as a team.
‘’So far I am happy with the way our preparation has been going. We have had some friendly games against top teams in the Solomon Islands S-League. I can see there is some improvement in our preparation,’’ Moli says.
Another key ingredient is the management of the players for the duration of the tournament.
‘‘It is going to be a two week tournament so the management of the players will be very important.
‘’We have rest days between matches but we must take everything one game at the time,’’ he says.
Solomon Islands share Group B with American Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga and Vanuatu, all of whom are serious contenders in the race to Chile.
Solomon Islands play their first game against Tonga and Moli knows how important the first game is to start the competition.
‘’We have respect for all our opponents. They are good teams as well. The first game is always the hardest. It won’t be a walk over game and we have to fight for every point.
“It is going to be hard but your first game is always hard. We have to go there well prepared and ready for the game,” he says.
Solomon Islands play Tonga on January 13 at 15.30 (local time) at the Pago Park Soccer Stadium.

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