Aqapour cautions Iran against complacency at Futsal Asian Cup
Asian Futsal Player of the Year Salar Aqapour has warned his Iranian teammates not to underestimate any opponent as they prepare to defend their title at the upcoming AFC Futsal Asian Cup, which kicks off in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday.
Iran begins its quest for a record-extending 14th Asian crown against Malaysia in Group D on Wednesday, before facing Saudi Arabia two days later at the Jakarta International Velodrome.
Vahid Shamsaei’s team will conclude the group stage against Afghanistan – coached by Iranian Majid Mortezaei – on Sunday. This is a repeat of their group encounter in the 2024 edition, which Iran narrowly won 3-1.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
Iran has long been the dominant force in Asia’s premier futsal event, suffering only four defeats in 105 matches across the previous 17 editions. Two of those losses came in finals against Japan – the only nation besides Iran to have lifted the Asian trophy.
However, with futsal rapidly developing across the continent in recent years, Aqapour believes Iran must navigate a series of tricky tests against emerging Asian powers.
“We saw how impressively Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia performed at the Islamic Solidarity Games [last November.] Malaysia also had a decent run in the Asian Cup qualifiers. Asian futsal has progressed significantly in recent years, and we will have to work hard to defend our title,” Aqapour told the Tasnim News Agency.
Afghanistan, which reached the last 16 in its World Cup debut in 2024, held Iran to a 2-2 draw at the Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia also impressed at the event on home soil, causing African powerhouse Morocco considerable trouble in the semifinals before falling 6-3 after extra time.
“All teams will be highly motivated and will play to their full capacity when facing Iran at the Asian Cup, but we are a cut above. Iran is a global futsal power, as we demonstrated with our commanding 5-0 victory over Morocco in the ISG final,” Aqapour added.
“The draw against Afghanistan in Riyadh was simply an anomaly. They are a respectable team, but I’m confident that result will not be repeated,” said the left winger, who was part of the team that defeated Thailand in the previous final.
Aqapour remained unfazed by the prospect of meeting one of the tournament favorites in the quarterfinals, stating: “We will likely play Japan or Uzbekistan, though it doesn’t really matter which team we face in the knockout stages. Whether it’s in the quarterfinals or later, God willing, we will win and advance.”
Addressing the high expectations placed on him as the reigning Asian Player of the Year, Aqapour said: “Other players in the Iranian squad have won this award before me. The achievement was the result of collective work, and I received this prestigious prize on behalf of all my teammates. We have three award winners on the roster, and I hope our teamwork will bring success to Iran at the Asian Cup.”
Moslem Oladqobad was named the 2022 Asian Player of the Year, with prolific pivot Saeid Ahmadabbasi winning the prize the following year.
“All players have worked hard and remained motivated from the start of the training camp through the final squad selection. The team is a blend of young talents and experienced players.
“We have had a proper training camp. We played Russia in a couple of friendlies and competed in the Islamic Solidarity Games, which laid the groundwork for Asian Cup success. We were disappointed, however, that our friendly against Iraq was cancelled, as it disrupted the coaching staff’s preparations for the tournament.”