Taiwan are hosting top-ranked teams in the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) U20 Futsal Invitation tournament at the Taoyuan Arena in the run-up to the Asian Football Confederation U20 Futsal Championship in June.
Japan are to take on Indonesia in the opener today at 3pm, followed by Taiwan facing Iran at 7pm.
The competition will serve as a warm-up for the men’s national squad, who in December last year topped Group B in qualifying for the regional championship by defeating Mongolia 3-1 and trouncing China 7-3.
The four teams are among 12 sides who are to compete in the finals, scheduled for June 14 to 23 in Tabriz, Iran.
“For this tournament, the four teams will face each other over a total of six matches. These are international friendly matches for the youngsters to play against other top teams without too much pressure,” CTFA secretary-general Fang Ching-jen said yesterday.
The national squad is comprised of players from high school and university teams who have shown good skills and the potential to go far, Taiwan head coach Chang Chien-ying said.
“We want to thank the CTFA for organizing this invitational futsal tournament. It is an excellent opportunity to train and get ready for the Asian championship in Iran,” Chang said.
“This competition will really help the young players, as it will provide them an opportunity to soak up real game experience and spur them on to become better players,” he said.
Iran head coach Hamid Shandizi said: “We are grateful to participate here, and our team will give the best effort to get the desired result.”
Japan head coach Ryuji Suzuki said that his side would face three strong teams, so they must perform their best to win.
They will gain valuable experience from these games, he added.
Indonesia head coach Kensuke Takahashi thanked the CTFA for the invitation, saying that it is a good way for his team to play and hopefully get good results before June’s championship.
Tomorrow, Japan are to face Iran at 3pm and Taiwan are to play Indonesia at 7pm.
On Sunday, Iran are to take on Indonesia at 3pm, while the finale will see Taiwan compete against Japan.
CTFA officials called on the public to attend the games and cheer on all the teams.
Advance tickets are to cost NT$200, while entry at the gate costs NT$300.
Discounts are available for children and people older than 65, as well as Taoyuan residents and people with disabilities.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite