Tag: Mahdi Karimi

Another impressive win for Iran’s futsal.

the-afc.com
Monday, 22nd September 2025

Kuantan: Iran’s Futsal Team Melli , made it two wins out of two following their 10-0 defeat of the United Arab Emirates in their AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Indonesia 2026 Qualifiers Group C match on Monday.

Hosts Malaysia set up a tantalising Matchday Three showdown with Iran following a 7-1 victory against Bangladesh. 

Iran, who sailed 12-0 past Bangladesh in the opener, only needed 30 seconds to find the back of the net through Behrooz Azimihematabadi, who gained possession from a poor back pass before slipping the ball home.

UAE tried to assert themselves but lost their momentum after Iran capitalised on a counter-attacking move in the seventh minute, which saw Mahdi Karimi curling his effort into the top left corner from above the box.

Despite the Emiratis best efforts to contain the men in red, with Hamad Hassan Alblooshi forcing Iran keeper Mahdi Rostami into a save a minute later, Amirhossein Dehghani made it 3-0 seconds later after converting Azimihematabadi’s corner.

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Iran maintained control through their high-press and increased their tally in the 12th minute through Masoud Yousef Shavardazi before Hossein Tayebibidgoli etched his name on the scoresheet a minute later following another counter-attacking move.

Shavardazi then netted from a 10-metre penalty in the 18th minute before Hossein Sabzi gained possession from the right flank to set up Ali Khalilvand Somehsofla for a simple tap-in.

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Iran were relentless after the break with goals from Azimihematabadi (23rd), Rostami (28th) and Shavardazi (29th) sealing the emphatic win. 

AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers – Group G: Iran 12-0 Bangladesh

Kuantan: Defending champions Iran began their AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Indonesia 2026 Qualifiers campaign with an impressive 12-0 win against Bangladesh in Group G on Saturday.

IR Iran 12-0 Bangladesh

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Bangladesh offered stiff resistance to 13-time champions Iran in the opening minutes with goalkeeper Jahid Rabbi deflecting Masoud Yousef’s shot onto the bar before blocking Ali Khalilvand’s attempt.

Iran’s persistent pressure bore fruit in the 10th minute, Hossein Sabzi capitalising on a mistake from Srabon Shakil to score, and was quickly followed by the second, thanks to a near post flick from Hossein Tayebi.

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Tayebi made it 3-0 a minute later, smashing a high ball into the roof of the net from an acute angle, with Mohammadhossein Bazyar adding another as Bangladesh struggled to cope with Iran’s power.

Yousef then squeezed a low shot home in the 16th minute before Behrooz Azimihematabadi fired home four minutes later for Iran to take a commanding 6-0 lead into the break.

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Iran maintained their intensity after the interval with Bazyar rifling in an unstoppable shot in the 21st minute after space opened up for him on the edge of the semi-circle.

Amihossein Gholami then smacked an effort against the bar as Bangladesh held Iran at bay until the 32nd minute when Mohammadhossein Derakhshani teed up Khalilvand to strike home.

Iran wrapped up an outstanding performance with further goals from Saied Momeni (35th), Tayebi (37th), Mahdi Karimi (37th) and Gholami (38th).

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.