AFC Futsal Asian Cup:
Iran up to winning start against Afghanistan
Saeid Ahmad-Abbasi fires home Iran’s second goal in a 3-1 victory over Afghanistan in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 18, 2024.
CHALINEE THIRASUPA/AFC
Iran began its quest for a record-extending 13th title at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup with a 3-1 victory over Afghanistan in Bangkok on Thursday.
Heading into the competition without injured talisman Hossein Tayyebi, Vahid Shamsaei’s side dominated the early proceedings at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium but had to wait until the closing stages of the first half to get off the mark, when a Salar Aghapour’s delicate backheel pass found Mahdi Karimi steaming through on the left to slam his strike past goalkeeper Mohammad Safari.
A second goal for the Asian powerhouse came seconds after the restart, with Saeid Ahmad-Abbasi dancing his way past a couple of Afghan players before unleashing his strike into the roof of the net.
The Iranian bagged his brace in no time, drilling home from a slight angle less than a minute later.
The Iranians took their feet off the gas afterwards but could still have extended their lead through Behrouz Azimi, whose effort hit the crossbar on 24 minutes.
Making an Asian Cup debut under Iranian head coach Majid Mortezaei, Afghanistan found the courage to push forward for a maiden goal in the event and was rewarded when Mehran Gholami fired home with 14 minutes left on the clock.
Shamsaei’s side sat on the two-goal until the end and is on top of the Group D table on goal difference, with Kuwait in second after a 2-1 win against Bahrain later in the day.
“The first game is always a tough one so I’m happy it’s out of the way and I was pleased with the result against Afghanistan,” said Shamsaei, whose team will face Bahrain today.
“We will do our best against Bahrain because we are aiming to go all the way and win this championship. We have analyzed them in detail and prepared our strategy so that we can bring all our power against them,” added the Iranian coach, a three-time Asian Player of the Year, who won the competition as a player on eight occasions but had to settle for a runner-up finish behind Japan on his managerial debut on Iran’s bench in 2022.
Japan, meanwhile, kicked off its title defense with a shock 3-2 defeat against Kyrgyzstan in the Bangkok Arena on Thursday.
Samat Dzhanat Uulu, Maksat Alimov and Kairat Kubanychov found the back of the net before Yusei Arai and Yuta Tsutsumi pulled two back for the champion but the Central Asian side staved off a late Japan fightback to take the maximum points in Group C.
Elsewhere in the group, first-half goals from Idris Yorov and Fayzali Sardorov gave Tajikistan a 2-0 victory over South Korea.