Beach Soccer World Cup:
Iran leaves with heads held high
A third-spot finish was the least Iran deserved at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup but the Asian champion was still thrilled to emulate an all-time high in the sport’s flagship international event by hammering Belarus on the final day.
Twenty-four hours after surrendering a two-goal lead against Brazil to suffer a last-four heartbreak right at the death, Ali Naderi’s men bounced back in style to defeat Belarus 6-1 and leave Dubai with a second World Cup bronze since 2017 in the Bahamas, where the Asian powerhouse had last appeared at the competition.
Iran started right on the front foot at the Dubai Design District Stadium and found the net twice early on, when Amirhossein Akbari’s overhead kick was diverted home by Ali Mirshekari before Movahed Mohammadpour sent his own acrobat effort flying into the net.
Further goals by Mohammad Moradi, Reza Amiri – who went on to pick up the Player-of-the-Match award – and Mohammad Ma’soumi in the second period put the tie beyond the Belarusians’ reach, before Mohammad Mokhtari added a sixth in the third period, which saw him win the Bronze Scorer prize with seven strikes.
Mikita Chaikouski pulled one back with less than three minutes left on the clock but it proved too little too late for the European side, which also headed home with a best-ever finish in the event.
“We wanted to win this tournament. We’re upset that we didn’t, but gave it our all to finish third today. We had a good knowledge of this Belarus team, which helped us win the match,” Ma’soumi said afterwards.
The scoreline saw Iran register the largest margin in a World Cup third-place contest since Portugal beat Uruguay 14-7, also in Dubai, 15 years ago.
The tournament was surely one to remember for the Iranian goalkeepers Hamid Behzadpour and Seyed Mahdi Mirjalili, who made a handful of stunning saves throughout the six outings, while contributing to nine goals between them.
In an event which saw 38 goals scored from bicycle-kicks, Iran led the way with 10 spectacular finishes.
Record-extending crown
Later on Sunday, Brazil lifted a record-extending sixth trophy, thanks to a 6-4 victory over Italy.
Rodrigo stole the show for the Brazilians with a hat-trick, with Bruno Xavier and Brendo finding the net either side of a Gianmarco Genovali’s own goal.
Genovali also bagged a brace for the Italians, coupled with a Tommaso Fazzini’s double, as the Azzurri settled for a third runner-up place in the history of the competition.
Italian Josep Jr. Gentilin still had something to cheer about in the awarding ceremony as he was named the Golden Ball winner – followed by Mauricinho of Brazil and Belarusian Ihar Bryshtsel, who added the Bronze Ball to his Golden Scorer award after scoring a remarkable 12 goals across the 11 days in Dubai.
Portuguese Leo Martins took home the Silver Scorer prize with seven goals, despite his campaign coming to an end in the quarterfinals, while Brazilian shot stopper Tiago Bobo was named the Golden Glove winner.
A third-spot finish was the least Iran deserved at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup but the Asian champion was still thrilled to emulate an all-time high in the sport’s flagship international event by hammering Belarus on the final day.
Twenty-four hours after surrendering a two-goal lead against Brazil to suffer a last-four heartbreak right at the death, Ali Naderi’s men bounced back in style to defeat Belarus 6-1 and leave Dubai with a second World Cup bronze since 2017 in the Bahamas, where the Asian powerhouse had last appeared at the competition.
Iran started right on the front foot at the Dubai Design District Stadium and found the net twice early on, when Amirhossein Akbari’s overhead kick was diverted home by Ali Mirshekari before Movahed Mohammadpour sent his own acrobat effort flying into the net.
Further goals by Mohammad Moradi, Reza Amiri – who went on to pick up the Player-of-the-Match award – and Mohammad Ma’soumi in the second period put the tie beyond the Belarusians’ reach, before Mohammad Mokhtari added a sixth in the third period, which saw him win the Bronze Scorer prize with seven strikes.
Mikita Chaikouski pulled one back with less than three minutes left on the clock but it proved too little too late for the European side, which also headed home with a best-ever finish in the event.
“We wanted to win this tournament. We’re upset that we didn’t, but gave it our all to finish third today. We had a good knowledge of this Belarus team, which helped us win the match,” Ma’soumi said afterwards.
The scoreline saw Iran register the largest margin in a World Cup third-place contest since Portugal beat Uruguay 14-7, also in Dubai, 15 years ago.
The tournament was surely one to remember for the Iranian goalkeepers Hamid Behzadpour and Seyed Mahdi Mirjalili, who made a handful of stunning saves throughout the six outings, while contributing to nine goals between them.
In an event which saw 38 goals scored from bicycle-kicks, Iran led the way with 10 spectacular finishes.