Iran glides into semis of AFC futsal cup

The Iranian squad thrashed Uzbekistan 6-3 at Dubai’s Al-Shabab stadium on Tuesday.

The 10-time Asian champions opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the match when Hamid Ahmadi fired home on a counterattack.

Ahmad Esmaeilpour doubled the lead two minutes later on a quick move before Asghar Hassanzadeh made it 3-0 for Iran a few seconds before the break.

The Uzbeks pulled one back soon after the break but Mohammad Taheri scored right back for Iran.

Uzbekistan reduced the deficit once again when Shuhrat Tojiboev scored his second goal of the night.

Iran maintained its three-goal cushion with less than nine minutes remaining when Hossein Tayyebi’s low cross deflected off a defender into the net.

With the whole Uzbek side pushing for a goal in the dying minutes of the match, Ahmadi intercepted and rippled the empty net with a precise long-range effort.

Uzbekistan scored a late consolation goal thanks to an error by Hassanzadeh.

“It was a good competitive match but we were on our guard,” Iran’s coach Ali Sane’I said, adding, “We had some anxious moment but still we controlled the match, scored a couple of early goals and never let Uzbekistan to bounce back.”

Iran’s entry to the semifinals also secured its place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup which is slated for Thailand later this year.

Iran is scheduled to take on Thailand on Wednesday for a place in the final.

AS/HN

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