AFC Futsal Asian Cup:
Iran rallies past Iraq to advance to final
Iran came from behind twice to defeat Iraq 4-2 on Friday and progress to the AFC Futsal Asian Cup final in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Standing between the defending champion and a record-extending 14th title in 18 editions in today’s showdown will be Indonesia. The host nation, inspired by a roaring home crowd at the Indonesia Arena, stunned Japan 5-3 after extra time later on Friday to reach a maiden final at the flagship continental event.
Iraq, which pulled off a 4-2 upset against Thailand in the quarterfinals, took the lead in the 10th minute, opening the scoring through Salim Kadhim, who dispossessed Saeid Ahmadabbasi on the halfway line before surging forward to find the bottom corner.
The lead, however, lasted only a minute, with Ahmadabbasi redeeming himself by delivering a perfect reverse pass to Mohammadhossein Derakhshani, who swept home from close range with Iraq custodian Ibrahim Ahmed rooted.
Iraq restored the advantage in the 13th minute after Ghaith Riyadh’s free-kick found Salim Kadhim, whose initial effort was blocked by Iranian keeper Baqer Mohammadi before he stretched out a leg while still on the ground to flick home the rebound.
Iran, yet to trail at halftime in the tournament, ensured it maintained that record as it equalized through a stunning long-range strike from Behrouz Azimi three minutes before the break.
There were chances at both ends after the interval, with Kadhim slicing an effort wide before attempts from Azimi, Salar Aqapour and Amirhossein Gholami failed to beat Ahmed.
Ahmed then did well to tip away Mahdi Mahdikhani’s shot in the 26th minute but conceded from the ensuing corner as Hossein Tayyebi arrived first to the ball to flick past the Iraqi keeper for his fifth goal of the competition.
Iraq was denied an equalizer in the 30th minute when Derakhshani came to Iran’s rescue, clearing Kadhim’s strike off the goal line after Mohammadi had been caught out of position.
Iran spurned an opportunity to widen the gap four minutes later after being awarded a penalty for Tareq Zeyad’s foul on Mahdi Karimi, but Tayyebi’s effort was saved by Ahmed.
Aqapour, however, struck in the 40th minute to send Iran through to a sixth successive final.
Despite the victory, Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaei blamed his players’ lack of conviction in front of goal.
“We are in the final, but my expectations of my team’s performance were much higher than what they showed today,” said the Iranian futsal great, who lifted the Asian Cup trophy as a player on eight occasions.
“Iranian players are capable of making a much bigger impact, and we can’t afford to waste so many chances as we did today. My team hit the post five times, missed a penalty, and squandered numerous scoring opportunities. That allowed Iraq to score against us from just two chances. I take full responsibility for these technical shortcomings, but we have no right to repeat these mistakes,” Shamsaei added.
Shamsaei’s opposite number on the Iraqi bench, Joao Carlos, meanwhile, expressed a sense of achievement after his side gave the Asian powerhouse a scare before bowing out of the competition.
“We gave a good fight against a strong team,” said Carlos. “We know Iran’s quality, but at times we had control. We don’t like to lose, but we finish this match with our heads held high.
“We have young players and our league is growing. We have 16 teams, but our players need to continue playing in tournaments of this level.
“Twice we were in the lead, and at those moments we needed to play with more intelligence and tactical awareness. But that comes with experience. We played against an amazing team who know exactly how to control the match – that was the difference.”