England 4-9 Bulgaria
UEFA Futsal Championship Preliminary Round, Group B
Sunday 21 January 2007
Deva, Romania
Click here for Match Schedule

With England knowing they could not qualifying from Group B, third place was still up for grabs as they faced Bulgaria on Sunday morning.

Graeme Dell's men got off to a bad start conceding two early goals and were unable to take advantage of a string of chances to haul themselves back into contention.

England's defensive frailties have been a major problem in this campaign and whilst able to sustain periods of pressure their vulnerability to counter-attacks proved their undoing.

Nearing half time, England trailed 4-2 with goals from James Elford and Ben Watson having found the net, but then suffered another setback with Michael Skuballa being sent off when he was adjudged to have handled on the goal line. Bulgaria scored from the resulting penalty.

In the second half England did well to haul themselves back into the game with a second strike from Hasting Town's Elford and another from Leamington's James Husband to make it 6-4. 

However, Bulgaria punished England's vulnerability at the back and scored three times before the end to win the game comfortably.

Dermot Collins, The FA National Manager for Small Sided Football said: "We have certainly made progress over the last three years but not to the extent that was required to qualify this week.

"As national Futsal Leagues are established across Europe the standard of the game is improving all the time and initiating regional or national leagues in England is something that The FA will be examining this year.

He added: "Players need the time to train and play Futsal more than they are at the moment and competitive league structures combined with the grassroots development of the game could provide this."