Source the-afc.com

MANAMA: Bahrain will have to overcome mighty odds if their dreams of continental futsal are to come true, if coach Gustavo Zloccowick is to be believed.

The draw on Wednesday for the 2010 AFC Futsal Championship qualifiers saw the Gulf minnows drawn with Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in Group A of the West Asian zone.

“We have a very difficult task ahead of us,” Brazilian Zloccowick told the Gulf Daily News. “Lebanon and Qatar are among the best teams in Asia.

“The Lebanese, their futsal team are ranked high in the continent, while Qatar is an emerging power.

“They have had a very good national futsal league for a year-and-a-half now, so they have had a good chance to prepare their players. They also have five Brazilian coaches for their national team, so they have experience.”

In their debut attempt, Bahrain need to finish in the top-three of the zonal qualifiers, which involves crossover semi-finals with teams from Group B - Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.

But in Zloccowick they have someone who earned renown worldwide for steering the Bahrainis to the Asian title in beach soccer on their debut. Bahrain also made it to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2006 under the Brazilian’s watch.

"We never know, we made a surprise in beach soccer when nobody knew who we were, and I believe we can do the same with futsal," Zloccowick said.

“We must try hard in every game we play, and focus on finishing in the top three. Anything can happen in the tournament and right now we must just focus on preparing ourselves.”