The first edition of Premier Futsal in India started with a bang. There were a lot of nail-biting and "wow" moments from Day 1 as Ryan Giggs' Mumbai 5s and Hernan Crespo's Kolkata 5s notched their respective opening wins of the competition on Friday.
Day 2 of the event throws up the other two teams of the competition in the futsal field -- Paul Scholes' Bengaluru 5s and Michel Salgado's Kochi 5s. Saturday's first game sees Mumbai 5s go head-to-head with Kochi 5s, while the second game sees Kolkata 5s taking on Bengaluru 5s at the JLN Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
Manchester United legend Giggs inspired the Mumbai side to bring up an excellent defencive display in their match against Falcao's Chennai 5s on Friday and the counter-attacks made by the team were spectacular as well.
Michel Salgado's Kochi 5s now have a real task to thwart the counter-attacks made by Mumbai 5s in their match on Saturday. Salgado, a Real Madrid veteran, needs to bring all his experience of defending to the fore and inspire his army.
Kolkata 5s, led by Crespo, meanwhile put an impressive display as well in their match as the former Argentina international got into the scoresheet on one occasion, while Mohammed Islam also became the first Indian futsal player to score in the tournament. They will be up against legendary Manchester United midfield maestro Scholes' Bengaluru 5s.
Squad news:
Mumbai 5s: Ryan Giggs, Luis Amado, Jo Paul Bence (both goalkeepers), Fogila, Angellot, Kevin, Federico Perez, Pablo, Sai Nikhil, Mohammed Ahtesham Ali, Shubham Mane, Chanpreet.
Kochi 5s: Michel Salgado, Casalone, Yashwant Kumar (both goalkeepers), Neto, Chaguinha, Deives Moraes, Gekabert, Emil, Muhammed Ameer, Basil, Ansh, Stalin Daniel.
Kolkata 5s: Hernan Crespo, Cidao, Amit Pal (both goalkeepers), Saad, Gabriel, Cirilo, Majdoub, Dida, Mohammed Islam, Subrata Dey, Pradeep Shaw, Akshay Nair.
Bengaluru 5s: Paul Scholes, Elias, Abhishek R (both goalkeepers), Romulo, Maxi, Nabil, Anatoliy, Easy Man, Zaib, Anto Rushith S, Jonathan, Sathya Kumar.
Where to watch live
Day 2 of Premier Futsal is scheduled for a 7 p.m. IST (2:30 p.m. BST) start on July 16.
First game: Mumbai 5s vs Kochi 5s
Second game: Kolkata 5s vs Bengaluru 5s
In India, the action is live on Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony Aath (Bengali feed).
