Solomon Islands national football team recently concluded their Tri-Nations FIFA International ‘A’ Friendlies in Suva, with mixed results against Fiji and Hong Kong, China.
Head coach Josh Smith addressed the team’s performance, acknowledging the disappointment surrounding the outcomes, but emphasized that the long-term focus remains on growth and building for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
He admitted that the results were far from what the fans had hoped for, but he stressed that his priority is preparing the team for future success – having joined the team only a day before the test matches.
“The results are disappointing, and I’m sure the fans are disappointed,” Smith said.
“But for me, it’s about the future and what we will be bringing in place when we come back here in a month’s time to get results.”
Smith’s commitment to using the current international friendlies as learning experiences, rather than just focusing on short-term results.
One of the key challenges the team faced was the contrast between the matches against Hong Kong and Fiji.
The head coach noted that despite the differences in opponents, some repeated issues resurfaced.
“It’s a different game to when we played Fiji, but we faced some of the same issues again with Hong Kong. We made a couple of mistakes, gave away two penalties, and it’s difficult to get the boys back up into the game,” he said reflecting to the 3-0 loss to the Asian side.
However, he saw positives in the team’s resilience during the second half.
“I was really happy with the second half, especially when they started to play harder, move the ball around, and make more passes. They kind of showed me it worked,” he said.
Against Hong Kong, two early injuries were costly – center back Leon Kofana and midfielder Carlos Liomasia were pulled out early.
With this setback the coach sees it as an opportunity to test the squad’s depth – giving other players a chance to step up.
“We used the opportunity for other boys to come out.
This trip for me was always about trying to see as many of the boys as possible in game situations,”
Placed in Group A of the qualifiers, Solomon Islands will be returning to Suva on October 10 for an away fixture against Fiji in the Oceania Qualifiers.
“I’ve got some good insights on what the players are, their qualities, and their weaknesses. For us, we’ll get back, make a strong team, and work on the way we want to play. When we come back, we’ll be a team ready to win games.”
-SIFF Media
