Iran Beach soccer team defeated the African representatives Morocco 5-0 in the final match of group A, Ali Naderi and Ahmadzadeh scored a brace each and Boulokbashi added one for Iran to book a place in the semifinal against Brazil.
The match started with Iran controlling most of the possession , however some heroics from the African team , prevented Iran from scoring. The 1st period ended 0-0
The second period continued like the first with the Moroccans defending valiantly depending on the odd attacks or free kicks to score.
Ali Naderi eventually broke the Moroccan resistance with a late free kick goal in the second period The 2nd period ended 1-0
In the third period Naderi from a brilliant individual effort where he dribbled past several markers and shoot a diagonal ball to the far end of Moroccan keeper to make it 2-0.
Ahmadzadeh scored his first goal and Iran’s 3rd , with a nice volley into the ceiling of the Moroccan goal.
Ahmadzadeh suddenly became the darling of Iranian fans filling the stadia when he scored his 2nd with spectacular over head scissor kick to make it 4-0 with 3 minutes to go. It was the game’s best goal.
in the dying minute Boulokbashi wrapped up the match with the 5th goal from a long-range free kick made it 5 for Iran.
Iran , the defending champion, will be playing against Russia , the team that finished at the top of Group B at 18:45 UAE Time on Friday for a place in the final of the Samsung Intercontinental Beach soccer championship. In the other semifinal, Portugal will meet Brazil,
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Iran advances to semis behind strong defense
Iran’s 5-0 win over Morocco was a heart stopper that had both teams on pins and needles from wire to wire. The defense and goalkeeping were outstanding and the goals that were scored were more than enough to satiate even the most offensive minded fan. The game was nearly scoreless for two periods before Iran hit the back of the net first, then exploded for three late goals in the final frame, which ended Morocco’s hopes of playing in the semi-finals. Iran will face Russia on Friday in the first semi-final. Morocco barely missed out on the semi-finals after they won their first match of the tournament but they will be playing in the consolation bracket against the USA on Friday.
Taking shots on goal is the only way to score but that was not how things worked for Iran in the early going. The Iranians threw everything at the Lions of the Atlas, including the kitchen sink but nothing struck the back of the onion bag. As the period progressed, the Moroccans got more and more shots on goal but the superb play from P. Hossieni, the Iran keeper, kept things level, at 0, going into the first break. The trend continued in the middle frame with both goalies having the game of their life, flying, sprawling, and crawling to stop every shot, which they both did, and heroically, until the Iranian captain put his team on his shoulders and scored the matches first goal with under a minute left in the middle frame on a direct kick to put the Princes of Persia up 1-0 going into the 3rd and final period.
Defense did not cease, particularly for the defending Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Champions, Iran. Their back lines held tough and the offense, specifically their captain, A. Naderi, doubled his teams’ lead with his second goal and the Iranians looked in control going into the final minutes of the match. The Falcons were not done yet and in beach soccer leads are rarely ever safe, so to combat this, Iran kept striking and got their third goal, which put them up 3-0 with very little time left for Morocco to make the necessary comeback. M. Ahmedzadeh scored the third goal for his side and just for good measure, he added another, less than a minute later to put the game out of reach for the Moroccans. When the final whistle sounded, Iran was up 5-0, after another late Iran goal.
Goals: 0-1: A. Naderi, min. 0 (2); 0-2: A. Naderi, min. 8 (3); 0-3: M. Ahmadzadeh, min. 4 (3); 0-4: M. Ahmadzadeh, min. 3 (3); 0-5: F. Boulokbashi, min. 0 (3).
SAMSUNG BEACH SOCCER INTERCONTINENTAL CUP DUBAI 2014
Upcoming Matches:
Friday 07.11.14
16:15 – Japan vs. UAE
17:30 – Morocco vs. USA
18:45 – Russia vs. Iran (Semi-final)
20:00 – Portugal vs. Brazil (Semi-final)