Bhutan
Nickname(s)Druk Eleven
Druk Yul
Dragon Boys
AssociationBhutan Football Federation
ConfederationAFC
Most capsPassang Tshering (6)
Top scorerPassang Tshering (3)
FIFA codeBHU
FIFA rankingUnranked
First international
Iran Iran 27–2 Bhutan Bhutan
(Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 23 May 2005)
Biggest win
None
Biggest defeat
Thailand Thailand 29–1 Bhutan Bhutan
(Incheon, South Korea, 26 June 2013)
World Cup
AppearancesNone
AFC Futsal Championship
Appearances1 (First in 2005)
Best resultPlate competition (4th in group)

The Bhutan national futsal team represents Bhutan in men's international futsal. The team is controlled by the governing body of football and futsal in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation. Futsal used to be very much in an embryonic stage of development in Bhutan, with the team only having played eight competitive matches. A national team was selected at very short notice for the fourth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Incheon, Korea, in 2013. In their first game, they were soundly beaten 29–1 by Thailand, despite scoring through Dawa Dhendup in the first minute. The team is currently ranked 150th and last in the world futsal rankings. By establishing National League and investing in futsal infrastructure, conditions have significantly improved since then.

History

Bhutan first entered an international futsal competition in 2005 when they took part in the 2005 AFC Futsal Championship preliminary round.[1] Travelling to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, they were drawn in Group C for the preliminary round along with Iran, Kuwait and Lebanon. They suffered three heavy defeats, opening with a 27–2 loss to Iran,[2] following that up with a 14–2 loss to Lebanon[3] and ending with a 13–1 loss to Kuwait[4] to finish bottom of their group with no points and a –49 goal difference from their three games.[1]

The team then progressed to the plate competition, where they were drawn against Iraq, Vietnam and the Philippines.[1] Although they were again beaten in all three matches, they performed more creditably. A narrow 3–1 loss to the Philippines[5] was followed by a 6–3 loss to hosts Vietnam[6] before their final match, a 10–4 defeat by Iraq.[7] Finishing bottom of the group again with no points, but this time only a –11 goal difference, they did not qualify for the plate knock-out rounds.[1] Although no placing matches were contested, Bhutan were the best performing of all the fourth-placed teams, all of whom suffered three defeats, finishing with a better goal difference than Guam, Macau and the Maldives.[1]

Bhutan have not entered qualification for an AFC Futsal Championship since, and in fact withdrew entirely from the international futsal scene until July 2013 when they entered the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.[8] This followed the creation of a formally organised futsal championship which took place in February the same year which, although privately organised, took place in association with the Bhutan Football Federation.[9] The team selected was very hastily arranged, with the decision to submit a team made at the last minute giving manager Pema Dorji only a week to decide on his players.[10] The speed with which the organisation had to be carried out was reflected in the team's performances in the tournament.

Travelling to Incheon, South Korea, Bhutan were drawn in a three team group including Thailand, the reigning Asean and Southeast Asian Games champions and Malaysia. Their first game against Thailand pitted Bhutan against a team vastly superior on paper and one of the top ranked teams in the world. The match started very promisingly for Bhutan as Dawa Dhendup scored in the very first minute to give Bhutan the lead.[11] This was, unfortunately, the high point of the match for the team as Thailand equalised within less than a minute through Kritsada Wongkaeo.[11] Thailand then proceeded to demolish Bhutan in what would be a record win for them and a record loss for Bhutan, scoring a further thirteen times in the first half and another fifteen times in the second half to inflict a 29–1 defeat on Bhutan.[11]

Two days later, Bhutan faced Malaysia in their other group game. Although they conceded fewer goals than against Thailand, they still lost the game 16–0, with Malaysia scoring seven goals in the first half and nine in the second.[12] This match was also a record win for Malaysia[13] and consigned Bhutan to last place in their group and they did not progress. An unnamed Bhutan Olympic Committee commented that the Bhutanese players selected were physically smaller than there opposition and were able to be dominated easily in addition to the fact that they lacked facilities, with the national team training on the futsal pitch in the car park of Changlimithang.[14] The coach and the team also conceded that they were not yet ready to compete at an international level and that the sport had not yet taken off sufficiently within the country.[14]

Upon their return, there was some dissatisfaction within the media about the manner in which the team had been selected, particularly that a number of members of the eleven-a-side team had been selected.[10] The organiser of the championship that had taken place prior to the AIMAG noted that he had seen many players during that tournament who could have made the national side, recommending that the Bhutan Olympic Committee view all tournaments to ensure they select the best players.[10] A young player, Tshering Dorji, argued that the team selected showed organisers favoured those who already played for the national team,[10] whilst another organiser of the futsal championship noted that the skills required for futsal were markedly different to those required for the eleven-a-side version of the game.[10] Manager Pema Dorji responded saying that he considered Futsal to be "basic football", that he expected futsal players to ultimately graduate to the main national squad, that the futsal championship had been considered as part of the selection process and that the team was selected from the fifty two players who turned up for formal selection.[10] Instead, he argued, the reason for defeat was a lack of facilities and time for proper training.[10]

Currently, Bhutan sit 155th and last in the world rankings, calculated on the Elo rating system, with 543 points, although since they have not played the minimum required ten matches, they are technically unranked as of July 2014.[15]

Squad

The following players were selected for 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games:[16]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Tshering Dendup (1994-04-04) 4 April 1994 Bhutan Druk Yul
20 1GK Thinley Rabten (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 Bhutan Druk Yul
2 2DF Kinley Tobden (1996-07-04) 4 July 1996 Bhutan Pep City
5 2DF Pema Rinchen (1986-02-20) 20 February 1986 Bhutan Druk United
3 2DF Karun Gurung (1986-06-09) 9 June 1986 Bhutan Druk United
4 2DF Dawa Dhendup (1995-09-24) 24 September 1995 Bhutan Japlhas
6 4FW Galey Zangpo (1994-04-02) 2 April 1994 Bhutan BMW
7 4FW Ratu (1987-02-07) 7 February 1987 Bhutan Thimphu City
9 4FW Yeshi Samdrup (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 Bhutan Druk Star
10 4FW Yeshey Dorji (1989-01-02) 2 January 1989 Bhutan Thimphu City
11 4FW Lekpai Dhendup (1993-11-11) 11 November 1993 Bhutan Thimphu City

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

June 26, 2013 Thailand  29–1  Bhutan Dongbu Students Gymnasium, Incheon
16:00 Kritsada 1', 2', 8', 9', 21'
Suphawut 3', 3', 12', 24', 29', 37'
Chaivat 6'
Jetsada 6', 27'
Nattawut 7', 13', 32', 40'
Apiwat 14', 28', 34'
Nawin 17', 24', 25', 40'
Konghla 20', 30'
Jirawat 21'
Nusaya 29'		 Report Dawa 1' Referee: Nurdin Bukuev (Kyrgyzstan)
June 28, 2013 Malaysia  16–0  Bhutan Dongbu Students Gymnasium, Incheon
16:00 Hadzir 2', 11', 18', 34', 40'
Zahari 3'
Zamri 5', 12', 23' (pen.)
Tahar 20', 28', 29'
Fadzil 25'
Hasan 33'
Kadir 34'
Bahrin 35'		 Report Referee: Husein Khalaileh (Jordan)

Competitive record

International opponents

As at 23 July 2014:[17]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff Win % Loss %
Malaysia Malaysia1001016-160%100%
Thailand Thailand1001129-280%100%
Iraq Iraq1001410-60%100%
Vietnam Vietnam100136-30%100%
Philippines Philippines100113-20%100%
Kuwait Kuwait1001113-120%100%
Lebanon Lebanon1001214-120%100%
Iran Iran1001227-250%100%
Total800814118-1040%100%

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 De Bock, Christofhe; Garin, Erik; Burkurt, Sturmius; Bobrowsky, Josef (22 August 2008). "Asian Futsal Championship Overview". RSSSF. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Iran vs Bhutan - 2005 AFC Futsal Championships" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 May 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Bhutan vs Lebanon - 2005 AFC Futsal Championships" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 25 May 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bhutan vs Kuwait - 2005 AFC Futsal Championships" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 26 May 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Philippines vs Bhutan - 2005 AFC Futsal Championships" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Vietnam vs Bhutan - 2005 AFC Futsal Championships" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Iraq vs Bhutan - 2005 AFC Futsal Championships" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 31 May 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Futsal - Competition Schedule". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
  9. ↑ Admin, (the Bhutanese) (16 January 2013). "Futsal Championship Coming Soon". thebhutanese.bt. The Bhutanese. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tshering, Dorji (6 July 2013). "How was the team picked?". kuenselonline.com. Kuensel Online. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "Futsal - Men's Team Group play stage Group B Match 1". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  12. ↑ "Futsal - Men's Team Group play stage Group B Match 2". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  13. ↑ "Malaysia's futsal journey to the world stage". boxscorenews.com. Stryker-Indigo Media. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  14. 1 2 Norbu, Passang (27 June 2013). "Thailand hammers Bhutan 29-1". kuenselonline.com. Kuensel Online. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Futsal World Ranking". futsalworldranking.be. Futsal World Ranking. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Futsal - Men's Team Group play stage Group B Match 1 - Start List". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  17. ↑ "Bhutan International Match Statistics". futsalplanet.com. Futsal Planet. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
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