CAFA Women’s Futsal Championship:
Iran routs Tajikistan to lift fourth successive title
Iranian women cruised to a fourth title in as many CAFA Futsal Championship editions thanks to a 10-1 hammering of host Tajikistan at the Dushanbe Indoor Hall on Saturday.
Fereshteh Karimi and Maral Torkaman scored twice apiece, with Zahra Kianimanesh, Mahtab Banaei, Roqayyeh Some’eh, Fatemeh Hosseini Nasimeh Gholami, and Mahsa Ali-Madadi also finding the net as Iran made a clean sweep of four victories in Tajikistan.
Iran was in a league of its own in the competition – featuring five Central Asian teams in a round-robin format – as Forouzan Soleimani’s girls scored 34 goals, while conceding only twice, across the four games.
Iran began the event with a 9-0 rout of eventual runner-up Uzbekistan, and then eased to comfortable victories over the Kyrgyz Republic (10-0), Turkmenistan (5-1).
Torkaman picked up the Best Player prize, while finishing atop the top scorers’ chart with 10 goals.
The event was part of the Iranian girls’ preparation for May’s AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup, which will resume after a seven-year hiatus in China.
Soleimani’s side will begin its bid for a third successive title with a game against the Philippines on May 7, before squaring off against Vietnam and Hong Kong in Group B.
The top three of the 12-team tournament will punch their tickets for the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup – starting November 21 in the Philippines.