The Tahiti beach soccer team is braced for "war" in tonight's World Cup quarter-final clash against Japan.
Raimana Li Fung Kuee (7) celebrates a goal with Teaonui Tehau. Photo: Facebook/Fédération Tahitienne de Football
The Tiki Toa bounced back from a first-up defeat by the United Arab Emirates in Moscow to beat Spain and Mozambique and top their group.
Raimana Li Fung Kuee has represented Tahiti at six consecutive World Cups and the 36-year-old said it did not get any easier.
"This tournament is the most difficult tournament I have played in my life but we do it," he said.
"We play with our heart and I think it's the most important for us and this is our power for beating these great teams."
After losing their opening match, Tahiti bounced back and have booked their place in the #BeachSoccerWC quarter-finals
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) August 23, 2021
Watch how they got the job done against resilient debutants Mozambique ☑️
The Tiki Toa have reached the knockout rounds in four of the past five Beach Soccer World Cups.
They finished fourth on home soil in 2013, were beaten finalists in 2015 and 2017 and agonisingly missed the quarter-finals on goal difference two years ago.
Li said there was "a big satisfaction to be in the quarter-finals" once again and promised they would give it their all against a Japanese team that recorded their best-ever finish of fourth in 2019.
Tahiti beach soccer star Raimana Li Fung Kuee. Photo: Supplied
"It will be another war because it's like a war for us but we can do it. We can do it if we just believe in our strength and play together as we have done since the beginning of this tournament," he said.
"We hope the sand will be with us and it's a quarter-final so anything can happen but one thing I can promise you: we will do our best for this quarter-final."
Japan beat Paraguay and the United States before losing to Russia in their group matches to make the last eight.
Group D winners Senegal beat defending champions Portugal en-route to the quarter-finals and will face five-time champions Brazil in the first knockout clash.
The winner of that game will face either Tahiti or Japan in the semi-finals.
Group C winners Switzerland face Uruguay, and Russia is up against Spain in the other quarter-final match-ups.
