The coach of the Fiji men's football team has moved to calm the feverish expectations of fans who believe the outsiders will win a medal at Rio 2016.

The Pacific island nation makes its Olympic football debut in August. Although the side are ranked a lowly 187th in the world, Frank Farina says some Fijians are getting slightly over-confident about the team's prospects in Brazil.

"A lot of people (in Fiji) have high expectations which are not reality," Farina told FIFA.com. "We want to put in a good performance, not be embarrassed, and be credible. 

"That is reality, and some people, who think we will go there and win a medal, don’t understand that."

Fiji are in the same group as defending Olympic champions Mexico and world champions Germany at Rio 2016, yet that hasn't dampened a wave of unbridled football optimism on the island (population: 881,000).

The introduction of rugby sevens to the Olympic programme has further fuelled hopes that Fiji could win an Olympic medal for the first time in the country's history. Fiji is a traditional powerhouse in the sport and are reigining champions of the world rugby sevens series.

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However, Farina said the country's football team are likely to face a tougher task than their oval ball-playing countrymen.

"We are not the Fiji rugby sevens side who are the world champions," Farina said. "Fiji is a small island nation and it is a new tournament for us.

"We will gain a lot of experience which will be beneficial for the national team. Like I say to people, don’t confuse ambition with ability."

In the optimists' defence, Fiji's football team have made a habit of upsetting the odds in recent years.

They qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time in 2015, bolstering their reputation with a 3-0 win against Honduras. 

Olympic qualification, secured with a penalty shoot-out win against Vanuatu last July, was also unexpected and helped trigger a football boom in the country.

"In terms of development for Fiji, local football has gone through the roof,” Farina said. 

“In just 12 months football has grown because of the U-20 World Cup. No one expected the team to do well at all, but we were 20 minutes away from the second round. A few weeks later the team qualified for Rio and now we have advanced in the next stage of World Cup qualifying."

So maybe those Fijians fans dreaming of victory against Germany aren't so crazy after all?

“Sometimes strange things can happen,” Farina said. “Anything can happen on a football field, as long as you prepare well."

Fiji kick-off their debut Olympic football campaign against Republic of Korea in Salvador on 4 August.

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