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Shamsaee sparks Iran comeback
Iran live to fight another
day after coming from two goals down to edge a thrilling Group E
encounter with Ukraine by the odd goal in nine.
The Asian champions' fate
wil now be decided against Italy on Tuesday after a heart-stopping
encounter that had everything one could want from a futsal match:
excitement, passion and goals.
The respective sides' commitment to attack
ensured that and it was Ukraine, so effective on the break, who
looked to have the greatest cutting edge when they marched into a
2-0 lead inside nine minutes through goals from Ildar Makayev and
Sergiy Cheporniuk.
Yet, with Iran looked tired and disorientated, their captain Vahid
Shamsaee led by example, scoring from a penalty to reduce the
deficit and forcing Fedir Pylypiv into an own goal to equalize
before netting another spot kick to put Iran in front.
Mohammad Taheri took up the gauntlet to score Iran's fourth and
fifth goals, leaving Ukraine chasing a result that would preserve
their own fragile hopes. As it was, while the Eastern Europeans
poured men forward in search of a way back into the match, a
combination of poor finishing, bad luck and superb goalkeeping from
Mostafa Nazari ensured that the celebrations belonged to Iran.
Asia beats Africa in champions' battle
IRAN
4-0 LIBYA
Rio De Janeiro
Iran kept their hopes of
reaching the next round with a 4-2 win over Libya at the
Maracanazinho in Group D of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008.
It was a deserved victory for the Asian champions over their African
counterparts and leaves Libya without a win from their three matches
so far.
Iran took control of the
match from the first whistle by putting a lot of pressure on Libya.
Their gameplan worked perfectly when they found themselves 2-0 up in
the first seven minutes thanks to goals from Mohammad
Hashemzadeh and Mohammad Taheri.
Despite the backing from the
local crowd, Libya did their best to improve, but spurred on by the
influence of Rabie Abdel, Iran scored again in the 17th minute with
Hashemzadeh claiming his second of the game.
Only some outstanding
goalkeeping from Mohamed Alsharif kept Libya in the game, but they
soon found themselves with a fighting chance when goals from Abdel
and Majid Latifi pulled the score back to 3-2 five minutes after
half-time.
However, Iran kept
their cool, focus on their game plan and put the game beyond doubt
eight minutes from time when Mostafa Tayyebi scored
his first goal of the tournament to ensure that the west Asians went
second in the Group D standings.
Realism is not a trait usually
associated with football fans, but it is always a necessary one for
coaches. While the Iranian faithful are hoping for their futsal team to
improve on their 1992 semi-final performance in October's FIFA Futsal
World Cup Brazil 2008, coach Hossein Shams downplayed any lofty
expectations.
"There is always the possibility
to do better, but the fact remains that we failed to progress beyond the
group stage at three straight World Cups, in 1996, 2000 and 2004," Shams
told FIFA.com in a recent exclusive interview. "Our
initial goal is to qualify for the second stage."
Having said that, being realistic
doesn't mean that Team Melli are short of ambition. "Winning the World
Cup is everyone's dream of course, and we are no exception," continued
Shams, under whom the players are undergoing final preparations on Kish
Island in the south of Iran, where the local weather resembles that of
Rio de Janeiro. "But we can't think about that until we reach the latter
stages."
Group strategy
Most would agree that Iran have been placed in one of the toughest
groups. Pitted against reigning world champions Spain, Czech Republic,
Libya and Uruguay, Iran's qualifying task will be difficult, with only
the top two teams advancing.
"This is a group as tough as you
can imagine. Besides Spain, there is Libya, the African champions, and
both Czech Republic and Uruguay are respected in futsal on their
respective continents," said Shams in assessing the group.
Iran Uruguay
Asian champions Iran meet Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro on
Tuesday, when they will be looking to consolidate their hold on second place
in Group D. The South Americans, with a solitary point to their name in the
tournament so far, are obliged to win to retain any hope of progressing to
the next round. Czech Republic, currently lying third and a point adrift of
Iran, will be hoping to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat to Spain when they
take on Libya. While a win for the north Africans would represent no more
than consolation in their last match of the tournament, a victory for Czech
Republic would set up an intriguing final game showdown with Iran.
The player
Mohammad Hashemzadeh (IRAN)
With his brace in Iran’s 4-2 victory over Libya, the
31-year-old pivot notched up his very first goals at a FIFA Futsal World
Cup. At the event in Chinese Taipei fours year ago, Hashemzadeh failed to
get on the scoresheet and had no joy either in Iran’s opening match of
Brazil 2008 – a creditable 3-3 draw with Spain. Now that he has found his
scoring range, coach Hossein Shams will be hoping he continues in similar
fashion against Uruguay.
The stat
20 - After participating in every world cup since 1992, the
game against Uruguay will be Iran’s 20th at a FIFA Futsal World Cup. No
other Asian nation has chalked up more games at futsal’s premier event.
What they said
“We’re focusing now on the game against Libya. If we
win that match it will give us a boost going into the game against Iran,
which will decide who goes into the next round.” Roman Mares,
Czech Republic player.
Stirring comeback saves Spain
Iran 3-3 Spain
Holders Spain came from
three goals behind to snatch a share of the spoils from a thrilling
encounter with Iran at Maracanazhino.
The Asian champions had
looked on course for a famous victory after establishing a seemingly
comfortable advantage, but the Spanish are never to be written off
and they stormed back in style to delight an enthralled crowd.
The contrast in style was evident from the
outset, with Spain's tactical mastery pitted against an Iranian team
packed full of quick, skilful players adept at striking on the
counter-attack. The first evidence of the Asians' intentions came
when they claimed an early lead, Ali Hassanzadeh providing an
intelligent assist for Mohammad Taheri to open the scoring.
Spain's coach Venancio Lopez reacted by shuffling his pack, moving
Javi Rodríguez, Marcelo and Alvaro into advanced roles, but it was
to prove - initially at least - to no avail. Iran remained deadly on
the counter and, before Spain knew what had hit them, two classic
sucker-punches from Taheri and Vahid Shamsaee had left them three
down and on the canvas.
The Europeans bounced back
up to show the mettle of true champions, however, with another
shrewd Lopez switch paying dividends. Torras provided renewed hope
from short range and Borja increased expectations with a low shot
that the excellent Iran goalkeeper could'nt keep out.
The stage was set, and
no-one was unduly surprised when Torras popped up to fire home the
equaliser with four minutes remaining. Spain, in fact, could even
have gone on to seal victory but will surely be content with having
rescued a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Iran begin their campaign against
Spain on 1 October. They can take heart from the fact that they lost only
narrowly, by 2-1, to the world champions in a friendly in August. The team's
convincing performance that day gave Shams plenty of confidence. "Spain are
exceptional, and they should be the only team that are likely to put us in
trouble. But we must avoid any slip-ups against other teams."
Shams, who has overseen five of
Iran's nine continental victories and guided them to two FIFA Futsal World
Cups, has mixed youth with experience in his squad. "We have retained four
players who played at the last World Cup, including the AFC Futsal Player of
the Year Vahid Shamsaei, to provide the necessary experience. But the new
boys will also have a role to play. I've been particularly impressed with
Asghar Hassan Zade and Mostafa Taieb, although they're still only
teenagers."
"The young players have gained good
competitive experience from this year's AFC Futsal Championship as well as
some friendlies, so they shouldn't be intimidated when the World Cup kicks
off."
Realistic goals for Team Melli
The past
Iran have monopolised futsal in Asia since its
introduction, winning nine of the past ten continental tournaments,
their only loss coming when Japan dethroned them in 2006.
The present
Iran's qualification for this year's FIFA Futsal World Cup was a
rather straightforward one. They made light work of the group stage,
scoring 34 times in only three games while conceding just once in
the process. A 9-1 quarter-final triumph over Lebanon sealed their
progression to Brazil 2008, before they beat Japan by a solitary
goal to reach the Asian final.
There, Iran cruised to a 4-0 win over hosts Thailand to lift the
trophy for a record ninth time.
The future
After conquering Asia time and time again under coach
Hossein Shams, Iran have set their sights on transferring their
continental dominance onto the global stage. To improve on their
semi-final performance at Hong Kong 1992, coach Shams is embarking
on building a more competent side. With youngsters Ali Asghar Hassan
Zade and Mostafa Taiebi complementing veterans such as Mohammad Reza
Heidarian, Vahid Shamsaei and Kazem Mohammadi, Shams puts faith into
the players' individual talents to break new ground at Brazil 2008.
"The team have made very good progress and the players' personal
technique is helping out," he said. "We have some very special
talents in futsal to count on."
Facts and figures
Key Players
Vahid Shamsaee, Majid Latifi
Qualifying statistics
Iran fired an incredible 48 goals in all six matches en route
to the continental title, an average of eight goals per match.
The numbers game
9 - The number of times Iran have won the AFC Futsal Championship.
IRAN Futsal
FIFA World Cup 2008
Brazil
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