Iran coach Shamsaei wary of minnow teams’ threat at Futsal World Cup
Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaei believes his side cannot afford to underestimate its Group F opponents when the FIFA Futsal World Cup gets underway in Uzbekistan in mid-September.
The draw for the 10th edition of the sport’s flagship international event took place in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand on Sunday, where top-seed Iran was pitted against Venezuela, Guatemala, and France.
Venezuela will be making only a second World Cup appearance after reaching the last 16 in Lithuania three years ago, while Guatemala, beaten by Iran in all six previous meetings between the two sides, has failed to go beyond the group stage in five attempts.
France, meanwhile, will be a debutant in Uzbekistan courtesy of an elite-round group win in the European qualifiers.
Some might fancy a comfortable progress to the knockout stage for Iran, which was ranked fourth in the inaugural FIFA men’s ranking in early May, but Shamsaei has other ideas.
Having steered his team to a record-extending 13th Asian Cup trophy in April, Shamsaei in no stranger to recent surprises after witnessing some shock results in the continental event in Thailand.
While Tajikistan and Afghanistan – a debutant at the competition – finished in the top five to celebrate a maiden World Cup berth, Iran had scary moments against Bahrain and Uzbekistan, with defending champion Japan crashing out in the group stage, failing to qualify for the world showpiece.
“A number of up-and-coming teams have burst onto the international scene since I took over the Iranian job two years ago,” Shamsaei said after the draw.
“Venezuela finished third to Brazil and Argentina in Copa América [in February] while France made it into top 10 in the world ranking and has seven or eight players in the high-profile Spanish league,” added the Iranian.
“Guatemala may be the weakest of the four teams in the group, but the World Cup is still a place for formidable sides,” said Shamsaei, who believes the host country – drawn against the Netherlands, Paraguay, and Costa Rica – enjoys the easiest group lineup among the five Asian sides at the tournament.
Making a ninth World Cup appearance in the upcoming edition, Iran, whose best finish came in 2016 thanks to a shootout victory over Portugal in the third-place playoff, will begin its campaign against Venezuela on September 16.
Shamsaei’s men will face Guatemala on September 19 before squaring off against the European opponent three days later.