Solomon Islands: coach Damon Shaw speaks on Kurukuru’s current development

The Kurukuru are in Sydney for a series of international matches to be played against the Futsalroos – the first of the three games was already played and Solomon Islands grabbed a historic result against the home team: 1-1.

Oceania Football Center had the opportunity to hear from Englishman Kurukuru‘s head coach Damon Shaw about his feelings after the first matchup against Australia. The experienced head coach that in the past already took part of Solomon Islands’ staff, stated the reasons behind the better performance against Australia in comparison to the last friendly matches against Vietnam – two 5-0 loses: “We upped the training since Vietnam and we have a couple of players back in the team. But overall we’re just a bit fitter since then and we know we can compete. Now we can do that a bit longer and can even get a result“, stated Shaw, that already coached in countries such as Malaysia and Sweden in his career.

The team seems ready for the remaining matches against Australia – the Futsalroos are ranked 15 positions above Solomon Islands in the FIFA Futsal Rankings. The exposure the team is getting is important for the preparations for the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, but as well for the professionalisation of the players: “This is good exposure, but the World Cup is where they can really get in the shop window. These games are all about being ready for that. I think most of this squad could play in top leagues around the world and we’d love to see that happen. I’ve had a few conversations with coaches in Europe about next season but for now we’re fully focused on October for the Nations Cup“, stated Shaw.

Solomon Islands took part of the last four editions of the FIFA Futsal World Cup; the Kurukuru are seen as the major force of the sport in the Oceania Football Confederation, but the competition is getting harder and harder in the past years. In the last OFC Nations Cup, back in 2019, Solomon Islands surpassed New Zealand only in the penalty shooutout. Last year the OFC Futsal Cup took place in Fiji, the tournament was not taken as the same of the OFC Nations Cup, although a red flag for Solomon Islands was raised as they lost the final match by 6-2 to New Zealand. “I expect a very tough competition. All the Oceania nations are improving and catching up. You see in the world, Spain and Brazil dominated for years, but even as they continued to grow, the gap closed and everything becomes more competitive. That’s happening in Oceania now“, said the English coach.

New Zealand, possibly the hardest opponent Solomon Islands may face in the OFC Nations Cup later this year, is ranked only three positions behind the Kurukuru in the FIFA Futsal Rankings. The gap is closer and the preparations are taken very seriously for Shaw and his players, as even historic results against stronger oppositions such Australia can state the strategies taken are definitely working currently.