Iranian girls crowned CAFA futsal champions
A 9-0 hammering of host Tajikistan saw Iran claim a third successive title at the CAFA Women’s Futsal Championship in Dushanbe.
Sara Shirbeigi bagged five goals with Maral Torkaman, Fatemeh Rahmati, Fereshteh Khosravi, and Fatemeh Hosseini also on the scoresheet to make a clean sweep of four victories for Foruzan Soleimani’s girls at the annual Central Asian event.
Missing high-profile Fereshteh Karimi, who underwent surgery on her knee before the tournament, the Asian powerhouse began its campaign with a 5-1 victory over Uzbekistan before coming out on top against the Kyrgyz Republic (11-0) and debutante Turkmenistan (9-0) prior to Sunday’s triumph.
Shirbeigi topped the scoring chart with 12 goals, followed by fellow-Iranian Hosseini, who finished on six strikes.
Uzbekistan finished second to Iran in the five-team competition with nine points, with the Kyrgyz Republic in third with on six points.