First of the two matches of the European playoffs for the Futsal World Cup in Lithuania next year has been played last night. Serbia won against Finland with minimum margin (1-0), and both teams now turn to return leg in Finland on Tuesday.
More on the first match: >>> Serbia won first match with "footballing" score!
Second duel for a spot in the World Cup is on schedule today between Croatia and Czech Republic in Zadar. Match is on schedule at 19:00 CET.
>>> Croatia vs Czechia: The Road to the Playoffs for the World Cup!
According to the bookmakers, Croatia enters this match as a favorite, and head coach Mato Stanković said in an interview earlier that his team is ready and that they're hoping for the best, which is a victory and making that first step towards the World Cup.
>>> Mato Stanković: We have problems with infected players, but we are not looking for alibies
Stanković also added that spectators can expect a close match between two very good teams that know each other well and that probably only the details will decide the winner.
>>> Croatia against Czechia without several notable players due to COVD-19?
futsal.fotbal.cz made an interview with Czech head coach Tomaš Neumann about today's match. Neumann said that he is familiar with the fact that some Croatian players won't be available for the match due to the Covid-19 reasons and expressed his regret that the match couldn't be played under normal conditions. You can read the full interview here!
Czechia team captain, Lukaš Rešetar, gave an interview for Croatian futsal portal crofutsal.com in which he said that: "Today's match will be a hard matchup and I don't expect too much risk taking from both sides. We will see how today's match will end, but in the end everything will be decided at our home. We will try to bring the best possible result to the second leg, but I believe that both coaches will implement defensive mentality and quick counter-attacks. We will rather leave the more attacking mentality for the return leg."
You can read the rest of the interview on crofutsal.com, right here!
So, everything is set and ready for today's playoff clash between Croatia and Czechia. Match starts at 19:00 (CET) and you'll be able to find first reactions right here at FutsalFeed.com!
Croatia futsal team:
Goalkeepers: Žarko Luketin (Olmissum), Zoran Primić (Square), Marko Vuković (Vrgorac)
Players: Dario Marinović (Jimbee Cartagena, SPA), Franco Jelovčić (FP Halle Gooik, BEL), Tihomir Novak (Dobovec, SLO), Luka Perić (Dobovec, SLO), Vedran Matošević (Dobovec, SLO), Josip Suton (Meta Catania, ITA), Luka Suton (Saviatesta Mantova, ITA), Marko Kuraja (Saviatesta Mantova, ITA), Maro Đuraš (TSV Weilimdorf, GER), Matej Horvat (Olmissum), Kristijan Postružin (Olmissum)
Coach: Mato Stanković
Czech futsal team:
Goalkeepers: Lukáš Němec (SK Interobal Plzen), Ondřej Vahala (AC Sparta Praha)
Players: Jiří Baran (Svarog FC Teplice), Michal Holý (SK Interobal Plzen), Jan Homola (SK Slavia Praha), Tomáš Koudelka (FK Chrudim), Lukáš Křivánek (AC Sparta Praha), Lukáš Rešetár (SK Interobal Plzen), Michal Seidler (SK Interobal Plzen), Matěj Slováček (FK Chrudim), Tomáš Vnuk (SK Interobal Plzen), Jiří Vokoun (AC Sparta Praha), Radim Záruba (SK Slavia Praha)
Coach: Tomáš Neumann
>>> Czechia, Croatia, Serbia, Finland: Past achievements on Futsal World Cup