Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics:
Iran suffers last-four heartbreak in women’s futsal
Iran’s women’s youth futsal team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Venezuela in the semifinals at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games on Sunday.
Iran fell behind 1-0 in the first half before Venezuela doubled its lead after the break.
The Iranian girls, however, staged a spirited comeback to level the score at 2-2 and force extra time.
The match went into two three-minute periods of extra time, but Iran conceded the decisive goal with just 30 seconds remaining in the second period to suffer a narrow defeat and miss out on a place in the final showpiece.
Iran had enjoyed an impressive run in the group stage, recording three consecutive victories over Cameroon, Costa Rica and Italy, which will face Iran again in the bronze-medal contest, to finish top of Group B and secure a semifinal berth.