Iran confirms squad for Women’s Futsal Asia Cup
Iran head coach Forouzan Soleimani unveiled the 14-woman squad for the upcoming AFC Futsal Asia Cup, which will resume after a seven-year hiatus in China next Tuesday.
Prolific Fereshteh Karimi, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament in the previous two editions in 2015 and 2018, and goalkeeper Farzaneh Tavassoli will headline the Iranian squad, also featuring Tahereh Mahdipour, Mahdieh Mahmoudinia, Fatemeh Rahmati, Sara Shirbeigi, Fereshteh Khosravi, Elham Anafcheh, Zahra Kiani, Nasimeh Sadat Gholami, Nastaran Moqimi, Mahtab Banaei, Fatemeh Hosseini, and Maral Torkaman – the MVP and top scorer in February’s CAFA championship.
Bidding for a third successive crown in the flagship continental event, Iran will get its campaign underway against the Philippines in Group B on Tuesday.
Team Melli will then take on Hong Kong on May 9, before squaring off against Vietnam at the Hohhot Sports Center two days later.
Iran defeated Japan 1-0 for the title in the inaugural edition in Malysia in 2015 and repeated the success three years later in Thailand, thanks to a 5-2 victory over the same opponent in the final.
The 2020 edition in Kuwait was canceled by the continental governing body of the sport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere in the 12-team event, the host country is drawn against Uzbekistan, the Chinese Taipei, and Australia in Group A, with Japan, two-time bronze winner Thailand, Indonesia, and Bahrain completing the lineup of Group C.