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KUALA LUMPUR − National men’s futsal squad head coach Chiew Chun Yong will finetune the team’s powerplay in an effort to garner at least a bronze medal at the Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam from May 12-23.
Powerplay is a tactical ploy where the goalkeeper temporarily assumes a role that resembles an outfield player and is most often used when teams are losing and want to push an extra player forward to join the attack and outnumber the defenders.
Chiew said this strategy was not only useful for scoring more goals but also when teams find themselves trailing.
“This is risky but, if executed correctly, will achieve the desired results. Unfortunately, our players have not mastered this strategy due to time constraints.
“As seen during the Asean Football Federation Futsal Championship 2022 (in Bangkok earlier this month), we tried this approach many times but failed,” he told reporters at a press conference held at the National Sports Council here today.
Besides the tactical aspect, Chiew said he was also working on getting his players to be physically and mentally prepared.
“The biggest challenge for me now is preparing the players physically and mentally. If these aspects can be improved further, the style of play that we plan to adopt will take us far,” he said.
He added that the players will report for centralised training on April 23 and they will then leave for Vietnam in May for some friendly matches with futsal clubs in the country.
The national futsal squad are targeting a bronze medal at the biennial Games.
In Hanoi, the national men’s futsal squad were drawn in fifth position for the round-robin league format with Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar. – Bernama, April 20, 2022