There’s a misconception that the game is all about flicks and tricks – a bit like freestyle football. But it’s actually more relatable to players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta (above): technically excellent footballers who can work really well in tight situations.

When you watch a game, it looks really fluid. Unchoreographed. But in reality, it’s a combination of choreography and breaking down blocks. It’s a bit like a game of chess: you’re trying to move your opponent into a certain position so that you can open up passing lines.

You can’t just do that by running. When there’s only four on a court (plus the keeper), you have to be strategic in how you move. We use ‘fake moves’ or feints to create space. If your main attribute is to beat players with pace, it’s probably not going to be enough in futsal.

You play futsal with your head. Your feet are just your tools.

“I see how Manchester City players create space for their teammates, and it reminds me of the futsal philosophy”

In England, we’ve got a long way to go to catch up with countries like Spain and Brazil, where futsal is played in schools and every child touches the game as part of their development.

We’re moving in the right direction. We coach in the same way the England DNA coaches the 11-a-side game. We might coach slightly different things, we might be looking for a slightly different player, but the England DNA is as apparent for me with futsal as it is with football – it’s just about lifting it out and putting it into a futsal context.

The FA are about to launch a six-year strategy for the development of the game in England, and my philosophy is very similar to how they want to work in terms of developing coaches, developing a workforce and developing players.

There’s a golden thread that moves across all the England teams now, which shows that we’re trying to create an identity.

I think we’re probably just a little bit behind that golden thread in terms of trying to catch up in a futsal sense, compared to football – which is a long, long way down the road in terms of culture.

We still need to create an identity for futsal – help people understand what it is and what it isn’t, and get coaches to understand how they can coach it and what place it has. I think we’re getting to grips with it now, slowly.

Social media helps in some ways. People see players like Ricardinho and Falcao (below) – the futsal icons – who can really deal with a ball. The footage gets shared around the world and people really engage with it.