Category: Futsal

22/04/202422/04/2024

Afghanistan book historic berth

MON, 22 APRIL, 2024

Bangkok: Afghanistan made history by reaching the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024 knockout stage in their debut after defeating Bahrain 3-2 at Bangkok Arena on Monday.

With Group D winners Iran beating Kuwait 4-0 at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, Afghanistan leapfrogged the West Asians on goal difference to take second place in the group.

Afghanistan will now face Group C winners Tajikistan in the quarter-finals for a place at the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan.

Coming into the tie Afghanistan knew that a win was the first priority in keeping their qualification hopes alive, but it was Bahrain who began the stronger with Saleh Sanjar stinging the fingertips of goalkeeper Javad Safari two minutes in.

The Central Asians responded in the fifth minute, however, and Mohamed Al Sandi made Safari’s opposite number, Amin Mohamed, pull off a flying save to tip over.

And in their next attack Afghanistan had the lead they craved. Jassam Saleh found Ali Al Araibi on the edge of the area, and he drilled his shot home.

On the 10th minute mark Afghanistan went inches from doubling their lead when Saleh saw his low fizzer strike the foot of the post.

A well-worked set-piece saw Bahrain draw level with five minutes of the half remaining. Maysam Faizi’s ran over the ball and into the area and wasn’t picked up by the Afghanistan defence allowing Farzad Mahmoodi to find his teammate for an easy finish.

The turnaround was completed by Bahrain on the 17th minute as Mohammad Moradi was brought down in the area by Jafari and Sanjar confidently dispatched the resulting spot-kick.

With 20 seconds of the half remaining Afghanistan could have drawn level only for Reza Hossein Poor’s blistering effort to cannon back off the intersection of crossbar and post.

Needing to restore parity as quickly as possible, Afghanistan came out with purpose and thought they had won a penalty four minutes into the second half only to see the video check determine the handball by Al Sandi was accidental.

But on the 25-minute mark, Afghanistan found their own leveller as Akbar Kazemi poked home at the second attempt after Mohamed’s initial save following Mehran Gholami’s corner-kick.

And with six minutes remaining the lead was one more back in the hands of Majid Mortezaei’s men as Kazemi’s persisted down the right flank ended with a ball into the on-rushing Gholami who fired home.

Bahrain had a chance in the final minute, but Al Araibi scuffed his shot wide from close range and saw Afghanistan hold onto the lead and secure their place in AFC Futsal Asian Cup history.

The performance of CAFA Futsal teams has been perfect so far as Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan , and Uzbekistan, the 5 CAFA teams qualified to the finals of AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024 knockout stages.

It is unfortunate that two CAFA teams will be knocked out in the quarter finals as Iran will be meeting Kyrgyzstan who have defeated the defending champions, Japan, while Afghanistan will meet Tajikistan.

22/04/202422/04/2024

Futsal Team Melli with a perfect record after defeating Kuwait.

Bangkok: Iran were at their best as they sailed 4-0 past Kuwait in their AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand™ 2024 Group D tie at the Hua Mark Indoor Arena on Monday.

The victory meant Iran topped the table with nine points with a quarter-final against Kyrgyz Republic next in their bid to win a 13th title.

Defeat for Kuwait meant elimination as debutants Afghanistan finished ahead of them on goal difference with both teams tied on four points.

Kuwait needed just a draw to reach the knockout stage and were the first to settle with Naser Alalban almost finding a way through on the right before Iran’s Mohammadhossein Derakhshani pulled off a fine tackle to clear the danger.

The momentum switched instantly in Iran’s favour as Kuwait keeper Fahad Alkhawari had to repel a series of shots, first a rocket of an effort from Moslem Oladghobad in the third minute, followed by attempts from Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh and Mohammadreza Sangsefidi.

The goal finally arrived for Iran in the eighth minute when Ali Akrami showed his individual brilliance, dribbling past his marker down the right flank before scoring from a tight angle with the ball taking a deflection off Abdulrahman Altawail.

Kuwait almost equalised in the 15th minute when Alalban gained possession from Iran’s Oladghobad down the right flank, exchanging passes with Altawail before squandering his effort at the end.

Iran increased their tally in the 17th minute when Karimi squared the ball to Salar Aghapour, whose shot took a deflection off Kuwait’s Ahmad Alfarsi before sailing past Alkhawari.

Kuwait were desperate to reduce the deficit but their full-court press was ineffective when Alalban lost the ball to Saeid Ahmad Abbasi, who struck cooly from the halfway line into an unattended net to put the score 3-0 going into the break.

Kuwait started the second half with the same intensity as the first half and threatened with Saleh Alfadhel testing Iran keeper Saeid Momeni from distance, while Altawail could only hit the side netting when he forced his effort from down the right flank in the 26th minute.

21/04/202421/04/2024

Iran’s futsal struggle to beat Bahrain

Bangkok: Iran became the first team from Group D to secure a spot in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand™ 2024 quarter-finals following a thrilling 5-3 win over Bahrain on Saturday.

Saeid Abbasi starred with two goals for Iran, who will face Kuwait on Monday, while Bahrain takes on Afghanistan.

Bahrain will be disappointed with the result after having twice taken the lead in the pulsating tie.

Iran dominated the early minutes, channeling a barrage of shots in the direction of Bahrain keeper Sayed Abbas, with Alireza Rafiei Pour’s attempt grazing the left post in the opening minute.

Saeid Abbasi should have scored for the 12-time champions in the third minute when Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh sent a through ball to the top of the box, only for the Iran No 9 to hit his effort straight into the arms of Abbas.

Abbas then denied Mahdi Karimi twice, first keeping out an angled shot from the left and then a long-range effort from the center before the Bahraini custodian foiled Rafiei Pour’s shot from distance and then produced a point-blank save to keep Saeid Abbasi out.

Iran were left frustrated again when Behrooz Azimihematabadi appeared to have found the right angle in the sixth minute from just outside the box only for his effort to be denied by the right post.

Bahrain gradually settled down and took the game to Iran and were rewarded in the 10th minute when Ali Alaraibi slotted home the rebound after his initial effort was blocked by Iran keeper Bagher Mohammadi.

Iran responded immediately, Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh’s clever set-piece finding Rafiei Pour, who dinked the ball past Abbas.

However, Bahrain struck again with two minutes left on the clock when Mohamed Alsandi sent a delightful through ball for Saleh Sanjar to strike home from close range.

Saleh Sanjar had a chance to further extend Bahrain’s advantage but was denied from the spot by Mohammadi just before the break.

Iran came out fighting in the second half and leveled the score in the 22nd minute when Abbasi found an unmarked Karimi, who finished with aplomb from inside the box.

Iran then took the lead for the first time seven minutes later through Abbasi’s effort from a tight angle but their joy was short-lived as Bahrain refused to give up.

The West Asian side equalized a minute later with Ali Alaraibi initiating the move from his defensive end before finishing a well-orchestrated team move himself from close range.

Iran underlined their superiority when they regained the lead in the 33rd minute with Azimihematabadi striking a powerful shot from the edge of the box which escaped the clutches of Abbas

Abbasi scored Iran’s fifth goal when he pounced on Alsandi’s poor pass before sending the ball from above the half-way line into an unattended goalmouth to seal the victory.

18/04/202418/04/2024

Iran futsal begins with a victory against Afghanistan

the-afc.com
Bangkok

Iran got their AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand™ 2024 Group D campaign off to a strong start at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium with a 3-1 win over debutants Afghanistan on Thursday.

A brace from Saeid Ahmadabasi and a strike from Mahdi Karimi proved to be the difference as Iran eventually broke down hard-working opponents who restricted the Asian futsal powerhouses to just one goal at half-time before Mehran Ghorlami wrote his own little piece of history with his nation’s maiden goal at the tournament.

Afghanistan kept a dominant Iran at bay in the opening phases of the match until the 12-time champions finally opened the scoring just before the halfway mark of the first half when Karimi broke the deadlock.

And it was a goal worth waiting for as ’s cute backheel pass found Karimi steaming through on the left to slam his strike past Mohammad Safari.

If the game had to wait a while for its first goal following the initial kick-off, it needed no time for its second after half-time as right from kick-off Ahmadabasi closed down the Afghanistan defense, recovered the ball, danced he way past two opponents with ease and then unleashed a rocket of a shot into the roof of the net.

And just a minute later the same player had his brace and Iran’s third. A flowing move saw Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh find Mohammadhossein Derakhshani who in turn played in Ahmadabasi to drill confidently home from a slight angle.

Vahid Shamasee’s side did not have it all their own way and Afghanistan aimed to hit the Iranians on the counter when the opportunity allowed, but it was the continental heavyweights who could have extended their lead further when Behrooz Azimi slammed an effort from just inside the area against the crossbar on 24 minutes.

Nevertheless, Afghanistan continued to seek a historic maiden AFC Futsal Asian Cup goal, and two minutes later their hard graft was rewarded when Ghorlami fired home after being set up by Hussain Mohammadi.

Despite conceding, Iran were content to sit on their two-goal advantage and Afghanistan were unable to make further headway as the 2022 runners-up began their campaign on the front foot.

Iran will next face Bahrain on Saturday, while Afghanistan meet Kuwait in the day’s earlier game at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.

11/03/202411/03/2024

Futsal News

Hossein Tayebi’s injury is not serious enough to miss the Asian Nations Cup.

Hossein Tayebi, the captain of Iran’s national futsal team and Palma club, was injured during his team’s match against Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga, The match ended with a 1-0 defeat for Palma, raising concerns about his absence in the AFC FUTSAL ASIAN CUP™ 2024, which is scheduled to be held in Thailand. The injury of the captain of the national team is not serious as Palma’s medical crew is trying to prepare him for the next games. According to the announcement of the Futsal Team Melli coaching, the participation of the national team in the first camp and friendly tournament in Vietnam is not mandatory for Tayebi, and the announced list, which includes the players of the domestic league, is supposed to participate in these matches.

Vietnam Four-side International tournament

The International Futsal Quadruple Tournament at the national team level will take place in Ho Chi Minh City. HCM from March 28 to 31. This is the “springboard” for Vietnam Futsal (VN) to activate the World Cup ticket-hunting campaign for the third time in a row. Iran will find this invitational tournament an opportunity to test itself against strong opposition and lay a claim to the title that is held by Japan.

In addition to the Vietnamese team, the three international guests are Iran (Asian runner-up), Morocco (African champion), and New Zealand (Oceania champion – OFC). The teams will play in a round-robin format.

AFC FUTSAL ASIAN CUP™ 2024

Group A: Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, China PR

Group B: Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Australia

Group C: Japan, Tajikistan, Korea Republic, Kyrgyz Republic

Group D: IR Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan

MATCHES SCHEDULE

18 April 2024 – 16:00 – Iran v Afghanistan – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
18 April 2024 – 21:00 – Kuwait v Bahrain – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
20 April 2024 – 16:00 – Afghanistan v Kuwait – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
20 April 2024 – 21:00 – Bahrain v Iran – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
22 April 2024 – 21:00 – Iran v Kuwait – Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok
22 April 2024 – 21:00 – Bahrain v Afghanistan – Bangkok Arena, Bangkok

31/10/202331/10/2023

Oladghobad wins AFC Futsal Player of the Year 2023

Iran’s Moslem Oladghobad was confirmed as the AFC Futsal Player of the Year after guiding his nation to the Final of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022, where he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The 27-year-old player is currently playing in Spain with Palma in the Primera División de Futsal. He was a member of several major teams in Iran like Giti Pasand, Mes Sungun, and Alvand Crop before moving on to Spain.

In the annual AFC award ceremony for the best of players in several categories, Salem Al Dawsari of Saudi Arabia and Australian icon Samantha Kerr have clinched the prestigious AFC Player of the Year Award in the men’s and women’s categories respectively at the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2023 on Tuesday at the Qatar National Convention Centre’s Al Mayassa Theatre.

Mehdi Taremi was a candidate but fell short of the selection in the AFC Asian International Player of the Year: award which went to Bayern Munich and Korea Republic player, Kim Min-jae.

Iran also had a candidate for the AFC Asian Youth Player of the Year, who was Amin Hezbavi but the award went to the Japanese Kuryu Matsuki .

10/10/202310/10/2023

Iran futsal eases past the Kyrgyz Republic.

Bishkek: Iran national Futsal team stamped its authority with a 10-2 win over Kyrgyz Republic in Group C of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024 Qualifiers on Monday.

Following the 18-2 win over the Maldives in the opening round Iran flexed its muscle, this time against the host. Captain Hossein Tayyebi got the ball rolling for 12-time champions Iran with a strike in the second minute before Mohammadhossein Derakhshani and Karimi got into the act with efforts in the 17th minute.

Iran pushed further in the second half and were immediately rewarded with their sixth and seventh of the evening through strikes from Mahdi Rostami Ha and Saeid Ahmad Abbasi respectively.

Kyrgyz Republic reduced the deficit through Daniiar Uulu Abdurakhim in the 25th minute only for Iran to score again through Karimi’s 30th-minute effort followed by Mohammadhossein Derakhshani’s goal four minutes later with the No 7 ending the proceedings with his third and Iran’s 10th goal.

Iran meets Lebanon on Matchday Three, while Kyrgyz Republic faces Maldives.

Group C

		P	W	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	IR IRAN	2	2	0	28	4	24	6
2	KYRGYZ REPUBLIC *	2	1	1	7	14	-7	3
3	LEBANON *	2	1	1	10	6	4	3
4	MALDIVES	2	0	2	3	24	-21	0

19/04/2023

Iran’s Futsal thrashes Uzbekistan

In the second friendly game, Iran’s national futsal team defeated Uzbekistan by a wide margin thus ending its training camp with full marks.

The national futsal teams and Uzbekistan met in their second match on Monday with this game ending 8-1 in favor of Iran. In this game, which started at 20:00 in Tehran’s Pass Stadium, Iran scored goals by Behdad Sheikh Ahmadi, Mehdi Karimi, and Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (twice each), Hossein Tayibi and Duran Cherif (own goals). Uzbekistan’s goal was scored by “Akbar Usmanov”. Unlike the first game against Uzbekistan, Vahid Shamsaei’s men started their work without stress and with authority in this match and achieved a 5-0 lead in the first half.

In the second half, even though Uzbekistan tried to make up for the lost goals, Iran continued its offensive game and was able to continue the scoring process. In this half, Mehdi Karimi, Saeed Ahmad Abbasi, and Hossein Tayyebi scored three goals, and Uzbekistan only allowed the ball to cross Iran’s goal line once.

Iran won 5-3 in the first game held on Sunday. If financial resources are provided, the Iranian national team will head to the Brazil tournament in September to hold a few friendly matches and then prepare for the preliminary and final stages of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup.

08/11/2022

Saeed Ahmad Abbasi lands in Spain to join Viña Albali Valdepeñas

Saeed Ahmad Abbasi, the Iran national futsal team player, finally left for Spain yesterday after three months of negotiations with Viña Albali Valdepeñas club and signing a contract with this Spanish league team.

Ahmad Abbas, who left Tehran on Monday morning for Spain, finally arrived in Madrid after nearly 12 hours of flight. David Ramos, the head coach of the Wine Albali team, personally greeted and welcomed Ahmad Abbasi at the airport too. Saeed left the airport with his head coach and traveled from Madrid to Valdepeñas in Ramos’s car. The city to which the Vinalbali team belongs and the passionate fans of this club are famous in Spain.

استقبال ویژه از بازیکن ایران در اسپانیا و برگزاری مراسم معارفه — **عکس یادگاری احمدعباسی و سرمربی آلبالی در اسپانیا**

After a photo session and a short rest, the player participated in the training yesterday evening and was introduced to other players. Ahmad Abbasi continued to train with this team to prepare for Friday’s crucial game against Palma. The opposing team has Hossein Tayyebi and Moslim Oladaghbad, two of Ahmad Abbasi teammates in the Iranian national team. FS Viña Albali club website wrote commented on Ahmad Abbasi’s presence in this team: “This Iranian player has started preparing to speed up his acclimatization and coordination and can help the team from the very first moment.”

Ahmad Abbasi expressed his excitement and joy on his arrival in Valdepeñas. In turn, they welcome him from Viña Albali and wish him the best of luck in this exciting phase, which starts on Monday.

11/10/2022

Shamsaei to continue as Futsal head coach!

Iran’s national futsal team returned to Iran on Sunday from Kuwait, after losing to Japan in the finals of the 16th AFC Asian Futsal Cup. Ehsan Usooli, head of Iran’s futsal committee, who was in Kuwait with the national team, was questioned by the media at the airport who were seeking some justifications for the avoidable loss.

in response to reporters’ questions, Usooli said that Vahid Shamsaei, the head coach, will continue to be employed according to his contract. The contract of Shamsai and his assistants with the national team is until the end of 1401 (March 2023) adding that this contract will probably be extended for another year. Shamsaei has experienced three competitions as Iran’s futsal head coach. First, in the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup and then the Thailand Continental tournament where Iran lost to Morocco in the final, while the last one was in the appearance AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022 where he again tasted defeat in the final match against Japan. Currently, the Iranian national team does not have a special plan after the Asian Championship, and it seems unlikely that the Caspian tournament will be held with the participation of teams such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

Usooli did not indicate if there will be an internal review of Shamsaei’s performance and failures and his suggestion that Shamsei will be continued as a head coach indicates that there will be no performance analysis.

Shamsaei in a bold but not very wise move completely overhauled the national team getting rid of most of the players that were winners of trophies at the Asian level and performed admirably at FIFA competitions. However, that was a major mistake by the relatively inexperienced coach and it meant that Iran lost its title in a match that a more experienced coach and players would have probably won easily.