England Deaf team head coach, Paul Harrison, described his side’s European qualifying campaign at the weekend as a “great learning experience” after his young squad miss out on one of the two places for this winter’s finals.
After a win against Norway and a defeat by Russia in their opening fixtures on Saturday, England needed a victory over France in their final game on Sunday to give themselves any chance of securing a place for the tournament in Bulgaria.
But a 7-5 defeat by France in their final match meant the final spot was out of reach for the Three Lions.
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Harrison said: “Overall, as an experience, it was something that money can’t buy.
“The experience of playing the best team in the Europe was fantastic and we will learn from our mistakes and build on our performances.
“We are a young team who had limited time to get ready for a difficult challenge.
“And it was a tough group with the best team in Europe in it, an unknown in France and a team from a nation with a strong futsal history in Norway. It was always going to be a challenge.”
Despite the disappointment there were plenty of positives for Harrison, most notably a storming second half performance in which England come from 5-1 down to beat Norway 7-5 in their opening game.
“It was really pleasing. They proved from that respect that even when the goals went in against us that they could remain focused.
“They continued to move the ball and I was really pleased at the way they came back.”
“The lads are disappointed but they played well and had a good tournament”
Paul Harrison
But England could not build on their winning start and succumbed to defeats by Russia (9-2) and France (7-5), who both progressed to the finals.
Harrison is looking to the future and is encouraged by the potential his young team showed in Oslo.
“Overall we didn’t qualify but were only narrowly beaten to second spot on goal difference. The lads are disappointed but they played well and had a good tournament.
“But that disappointment, in one way, is a good thing because we know we are as close or as good as the team that went through.
“We know we are on a level with those three, and so with the right backing, support and opportunity to train, and with the potential to bring younger players in from the development squads it all bodes well for the future.”
England Deaf team’s next fixture is a friendly away against Wales on 22-23 March.
