Iran are the 2022 Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup champion!
In the tightest of finals, the Iranians hung on to a 2-1 lead right until the end against Brazil, who also had three titles ahead of this edition, to lift their fourth, equaling Russia’s record.
Amir Akbari was named the MVP, while fellow Iranian Hamid went home with the Best Goalkeeper award. After netting a double on the final day, Carlos Carballo, the Paraguay skipper, won the Top Scorer award.
Two previous champions, each with three titles, clashed on the sands of Dubai for the crown at the 11th edition of the Emirates Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup. Neither had lost so far, but in beach soccer, there are no draws, and an unbeaten streak had to come to an end on Sunday.
After a tense opening of ten minutes, Iranian beach soccer legend Ahmadzadeh finally broke the deadlock, and the mainly Iranian stadium, including those outside who couldn’t get a seat inside, exploded.
A spectacular strike from Saeed had the crowd on their feet once more in the second period, and Brazil, as they had in the semi-finals, looked to be running out of ideas, taking potshots in an attempt to get back into the game.
Eventually, Marco Octavio’s men found a way through, as Catarino slotted home a penalty to make it 2-1.
A stubborn Iran then hung on for dear life as the men in yellow shirts threw everything they had at them, but they cleverly held the Brazilian firepower at bay to clinch the win and a record-equalling fourth Intercontinental Cup!
In the award ceremony at the end of the match, the Iranian Beach Soccer national team players mutedly celebrated the cham[pionship in respect to the hundreds of compatriots who have lost their lives at the hand of the brutal regime as a result of protests across Iran. Before the start of the match, the National Anthem was also booed by a large number of crowds in the arena in protest against the Iranian government. Those two events had the Iranian state TV scramble to cut the live trans,mission and substitute it with their own propaganda.
Kudos to Iran’s Beach Soccer players for taking a gallant stand for a just cause.