AFC Futsal Asian Cup:
Iran rallies past Bahrain to progress to last eight
Iran came from behind twice to beat a resolute Bahrain side 5-3 and book a place in the last-eight round of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.
Stepping into the game on the back of a first-day 3-1 win against Afghanistan, Vahid Shamsaei’s men dominated the early stages at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium, with Alireza Rafieipour hitting the post in the opening minute before Bahraini keeper Sayed Abbas produced a couple of fine saves to deny Mahdi Karimi and Saeid Ahmad-Abbasi.
The 12-time champion was stunned in the 10th minute when Ali Alaraibi gave Bahrain a surprise lead, only to see his goal canceled out by Rafieipour seconds later.
Bahrain struck again with two minutes left on the clock, thanks to Saleh Sanjar’s close-range strike, and he could have doubled his side’s advantage just before the break, but saw his effort from the second spot well saved by Iranian goalie Baqer Mohammadi.
Iran found a second equalizer through Karimi two minutes after the interval and took a first-time lead in the contest seven minutes later.
Ahmad-Abbasi bagged his third goal in the competition from a tight angle but Iran’s lead was short-lived as Alaraibi drew Bahrain level a minute later.
However, Behrouz Azimi’s left-foot effort on a corner-kick found the roof of the net to restore Iran’s one-goal cushion with less than eight minutes left on the clock, and when Bahrain opted for powerplay in desperate search of a late equalizer Ahmad-Abbasi was first to a poor pass by Mohamed Alsandi before sending the ball from his own half into an empty net.
The result left Iran atop the Group D table with maximum points, while Kuwait remained on course for a runner-up spot after a 3-3 draw against Afghanistan.
“The game became tricky for us due to the pressure our players felt about advancing to the next round. We performed well in the opening minutes, but after conceding a goal, we were forced into a defensive mode,” said Shamsaei, whose team will be chasing a first Asian crown since 2018.
A draw against Kuwait today will be enough for Iran to win the group.
“I believe in my players. They delivered a decent performance today. We face a difficult situation as this is a World Cup qualifying tournament and I just want my men to know that if they play to their abilities, we will win every game,” added the Iranian head coach.
The four semifinalists in Bangkok will book a place in the World Cup – starting mid-September in Uzbekistan.
“We made it hard for ourselves. We missed loads of chances in the first half and were caught off guard on the counterattacks. We still showed character to get back in the game,” said Iranian skipper Ali-Asghar Hassanzadeh, who is after a fifth Asian trophy with the national team.
Elsewhere on Saturday, defending champion Japan bounced back from a first-day 3-2 defeat against Kyrgyzstan to beat South Korea 5-0, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan shared the spoils in a 2-2 stalemate.
Tajikistan is on top in Group C with four points, leading Kyrgyzstan on goal difference.