FIFA Futsal World Cup:
Shamsaei hails team effort as Iran runs riot against Venezuela
Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaei praised his players for being “like a true team” after the Asian powerhouse opened its Futsal World Cup campaign in style, cruising to a 7-1 victory over Venezuela in Group F.
Salar Aghapour got Iran off the mark in Bukhara Universal Sports Complex thanks to a sublime team goal seven minutes into the game and then Mahdi Karimi scored twice before Milton Francia pulled one back for the Venezuelans, only to see Behrouz Azimi restore the three-goal cushion for Shamsaei’s men at halftime.
Aghapour bagged his second of the afternoon three minutes after the break with Amirhossein Davoudi and Azimi also on the scoresheet in the second half as Iran tied its all-time biggest World Cup win, having beaten Cuba by the same scoreline in 1996.
“It was a good game. I have special respect for Venezuela as they finished third in Copa America [in February] and I had seen many impressive performances from them,” Shamsaei said after the game.
“Our players were like a true team today and gave it their all throughout the game. We were looking to start the tournament with a victory and I’m glad we made it in a tough match,” added the Iranian.
“There were short spells when we lost hold of the game, but the players managed to turn things around. Now that the game is behind us, we need to look ahead to the next matches and take things step by step,” said Shamsaei, whose team sits atop the group table on goal difference before facing Guatemala – beaten 6-3 by France later in the day – on Thursday.
Monday’s game marked a milestone for Iranian skipper Ali-Asghar Hassanzadeh – who matched a record fifth participation in the World Cup finals – while it was a debut appearance in the global showpiece for some of Shamsaei’s young talents, including Man of the Match Aghapour and Azimi.