Iran advances to AFC Futsal Championship final
The national Iranian men’s futsal team has earned a position in the final showdown of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan, following a convincing 13-1 victory over Vietnam.
Iran’s 28-year-old forward Mahdi Javid gave his side the perfect start when he found the back of the net after just two minutes into the game played at Uzbekistan Stadium in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent on Friday.
Farhad Tavakoli then scored twice for Iran in the eighth minute, first when he evaded Vietnam’s defense to deliver a perfect finish from the left side of the box, and another time when he tapped home teammate Ghodrat Bahadori’s cross.
Hamid Ahmadi side-footed into the back of the net in the 13th minute, before Hossein Tayebi added the fifth goal for Iran four minutes before the interval.
Phung Trong Luan scored Vietnam’s consolation goal in the 17th minute, when he netted the ball from close range.
Iran refused to let up in the second half, and Tavakoli collected a hat trick in the 20th minute before Javid notched his brace.
Tavakol claimed his third and Iran’s eighth goal two minutes later. Iran’s Alireza Vafaei was on the score sheet in the 26th minute, and top scorer Tayebi made it 10-1 for Iran a minute later.
Javid poked home his treble in the 32nd minute, and Mohammad Keshavarz added two more in the closing minutes of the match to inflict the stunning defeat on Vietnam.
“I dedicate the victory to all Iranian futsal coaches who prepared the players for the national duty. We do our best to make the Iranian people happy,” Iran coach Mohammad Nazemosharia said.
“The Uzbek fans are attending the competition from the first day and it makes it difficult for us in the final match,” he added.
Iran has been scheduled to face host Uzbekistan in the final match on Sunday.
The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship, which is the 14th edition of the tournament, started in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on February 10, and will finish on February 21.
The top five teams will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be the 8th edition of the event, in Colombia.
Iran is the most successful team in the AFC futsal tournament with ten titles.
The Persians finished runner-up once in 2014, and stood on the bronze podium in 2006 and 2012.
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