Tahiti will look to garner more fans when it takes on Spain in the Confederations Cup on Thursday.
The team full of amateurs lost its opening match against Nigeria 6-1 but impressed pundits with some strong play throughout the game. More importantly, the team accomplished one of its major goals heading into the tournament: scoring one goal.
At the 54 minute mark of the second half Jonathan Tehau headed in a cross from a corner to give the nation its only reason to celebrate.
"It made sense for everyone to do it together and for me to share it with my friends. And they really liked it. They saw what it was like to score in front of a big crowd and millions of television viewers. It was simply a beautiful moment. It's as if I scored tonight; that's how much pleasure it gives me. And that was why I thought I'd go for it with the celebration," Tehau said about his goal.
"Jonathan scored, but we all scored in a way. Isn't that what team sport is all about?" said Tahiti substitute goalie Mikael Roche. "But above all, what we would like to remember, and what we want the world to remember, is our values, our fighting spirit and the way we played as a team. We never gave up and we played with our hearts."
Tahiti will face a new test when it takes on the defending World and European champions on Thursday. The Spaniards are coming off a dominant 2-1 victory over Uruguay in which they controlled the ball for over 70 percent of the time. However, Coach Vicente del Bosque was displeased with his team's effort at times.
"We dominated at all times with the exception of when we struggled and let in a goal," del Bosque said. "At the end of the 90 minutes we were happy to hear the final whistle. We should have scored more and maybe we were tired and also as a result of winning 2-0, that affects the players, they start to slow down and that is why we suffered at the end."
One of the big questions for Spain heading into the match is whether Del Bosque decides to rest his top players against the weak squad. His bench is filled with superstars, including some players that need to prove themselves. Playing those stars could allow Del Bosque a chance to see what he really has on his team in preparation for the final group match against Nigeria and the possible group stage matches that Spain might endure.
Prediction: Del Bosque rests some of his top players and Spain rolls to an 8-0 win over Tahiti.
Start Time: 3 PM EST
TV: ESPN, UniMas
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