Many people remember Tahiti from the Confederations Cup where they were hammered by all opponents but still won football fans’ hearts with their cheerful and gritty performances. Although they suffered losses, the Brazilian crowd loved cheering for the underdog.
Tahiti’s coach spoke about how emotional it was after their 6-1 loss against Nigeria in the Confederations cup.
Tahiti evoked cheers with every attacking move and the loudest applause of the match came when Jonathan Tehau headed in the team’s only goal just after halftime.
“That really excited us. I was deeply moved, almost crying,” Etaeta said.
“In the end what was lacking for us was experience. The Brazilian fans knew that. We are amateurs and the physical aspect was difficult. The last few minutes of the match were particularly tough.”
The team is made up of mostly amateurs as 9 out of the 11 players are part-time footballers. The Tahiti goalkeeper, unfortunately scored a hilarious own goal during this match.
A throw in found its way to the goalkeeper Mickael Roche who somehow managed to put the ball in the back of his own net from an improbable angle. The unfortunate Mickael Roche was left dejected with his actions as he could not believe that he had conceded such an unfortunate yet hilarious own goal.
Tahiti created history by qualifying to the previous Confederations Cup,however, it looks unlikely if they keep repeating the same errors.
