Marçal ‘Excited To Get Started’ At Soccer Sevens
- Thoughts on the upcoming HKFC Soccer Sevens tournament from Wanya Marçal
- The Under-21s squad are out in Hong Kong for the seven-a-side competition
- The attacker is proud to be leading the side out as captain this week
- He also spoke about how the team are adapting to the different conditions
As Saturday’s kick-off edges closer, the attacker gave insight into a week of preparation in Hong Kong, with the seven-a-side tournament providing a unique challenge. Putting Leicester’s name on the trophy for the third time will not be easy, but it’s the target within the squad.
Back To It In East Asia
A look behind the scenes of Thursday morning's training in Hong Kong for the Under-21s.
Speaking during the tournament’s media day at Hong Kong Football Club, Marçal said: “I’m very excited to get started. I feel like we can do well; we’ve got a good team with good ability.
“We got to the quarter-finals (last year) and were unlucky to get knocked out early, but I feel this year we have a team who are raring to get to the final.
“We’ve been talking among the boys and we can get to the final. Our aim is to win it. We’ve all got a good feeling, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Making his second appearance at the tournament, the Portuguese winger is captaining the team this time around and hoping to impart some wisdom on his team-mates who will be making their debuts in the competition.
“I’m proud,” he commented on being named as captain. “I’ve been here a long time and I’ve got more experience than most of the lads who are here for the first time.
“It’s about just leading them and giving them my experience. I was here last year so I know what to expect. I can pass on my experience to the younger boys.”
'We've All Got A Good Feeling'
Wanya Marçal shares insight into City's preparations for the Soccer Sevens tournament at the captain's media session at Hong Kong Football Club.
The extremely humid climate is not easy to acclimatise to, nor is the artificial surface and seven-a-side length pitch, but the opening training sessions have helped to bed the players in.
“It’s very hot,” he added. “I thought I’d be used to the weather but it’s still the same, I’m boiling! But you do get used it to after a while. We’ve had a day more of training than last year so there’s more time to get to grips with the conditions.
“It’s been good. Yesterday (Wednesday) we had a light session just to stretch out the legs. Today (Thursday) we had a friendly to get used to the conditions and the game on a big pitch. The boys are doing well.”