No Excuses, We’re Ready: Coach
17-Year-Old Ba Striker Answers Nation’s Call.
Tuesday 15 February 2022 | 10:30
Ba midfielder, Nabil Begg (right) tries to defend against Rewa’s Kavaia Rawaqa during their match in Round 1 of the Digicel Premier League at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, on February 13, 2022. Begg is the youngest player selected for the national side that will leave for Qatar next month to play in the World Cup qualifier. Photo: Leon Lord
Ba striker Nabil Begg is the youngest member of the Digicel Fijian Men’s football team to play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Qatar in March.
The 17-year-old, Kamil Muslim College student was among the 23-member squad announced yesterday by head coach Flemming Serritslev at the Fiji Football Association headquarters in Vatuwaqa in Suva.
The 24th player either a midfielder or striker, Serritslev says, will be named after this weekend’s Digicel Premier League matches.
The Dane has named four goalkeepers, eight defenders and midfielders along with three strikers.
“The announcement on Valentine’s Day is for football lovers,” Serritslev said.
“Two years without any (international) match has been frustrating. You might wonder why I’m selecting four goalkeepers. I don’t know if you’ve noticed (during the Africa Cup of Nations) Comoros, the team that played against Cameroon in the quarterfinal, had one goalkeeper injured while the other two could play not because they had tested positive to COVID-19.
“It meant they needed to put an outfield player to play goalkeeper. We don’t want to come to the same situation.”
Serritslev said he won’t offer an excuses about their preparations since they have ideal conditions here.
The national side will play a friendly match on March 10 against Vanuatu and they are hopeful of play another friendly game in Doha.
The national side open their campaign against New Caledonia on March 18 before facing New Zealand on March 21 and Papua New Guinea on March 24.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is from November 21 to December 18. The 27-day tournament will be held across eight stadiums. It is the first FIFA World Cup to take place in the Middle East
Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj
