Tag: FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021

Iran’s FIFA Futsal World Cup dream ended by Kazakhstan fightback

Kazakhstan fought back from two goals down to advance to the semi-finals as Iran’s bid to better their third-place finish of five years ago was halted at the Kaunas Arena.

Kazakhstan will face Portugal next while defending champions Argentina will meet five-time winners Brazil in the other last four tie.

Iran dominated possession in the opening minutes but were unable to find any openings against a defensive-minded Kazakhstan side looking to hit on counter-attacks.

Team Melli’s persistence, however, eventually saw them open the scoring in the eighth minute through Moslem Oladghobad, who finished Saeid Ahmad Abbasi’s pass into the area.

Iran survived a scare seconds before the end of the first half when the Video Assistant Referee was called into action for Farhad Tavakoli’s tackle on Taynan in the box, but the referee deemed it a fair challenge as the Central Asians took their two-goal lead into the break.

IR Iran v Kazakhstan-FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021

Kazakhstan came out fighting in the second half and came close in the 23rd minute through Douglas Junior’s cracking strike from distance, but Iran goalkeeper Alireza Samimi pulled off an impressive save to deny the Brazilian-born winger.

Samimi, however, was unable to keep out Dauren Tursagulov’s strike two minutes later with the Iranian defense caught off guard by Junior’s quick through pass.

IR Iran v Kazakhstan-FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021

Buoyed by the goal, Kazakhstan pressed forward and drew level in the 29th minute through Arnold Knaub, who scored off a free-kick which was awarded after Mohammad Shajari’s foul on Higuita.

Taynan then completed Kazakhstan’s amazing comeback when he scored off a corner as Iran’s hopes of making a third FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-final were dashed.

Tough test for Futsal Team Melli against Kazakhstan

Iran will face their toughest test yet when they play Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021 at the Kaunas Arena on Monday.

In what promises to be a thrilling encounter, Kazakh fans will be hoping that the quarter-final is decided in normal time, as Team Melli won two penalty shootouts and another match after extra-time at the last Futsal World Cup.

On the other hand, Iran might want to avoid another open encounter like their Round of 16 epic against Uzbekistan, as scoring against Kazakhstan and their formidable goalkeeper Higuita, aided by defensive stalwart Douglas, has proven extremely difficult in Lithuania 2021.

 

  • Uzbekistan v IR Iran - FIFA FWC2021 (1)
    FIFA Futsal World Cup

 

Team Melli opened their campaign with a narrow 3-2 victory over Serbia before seeing off the United States 4-2, with a 2-1 defeat against Argentina being their only blemish as they finished second in Group F behind the South Americans.

In the Round of 16, Uzbekistan found a chink in Iran’s armor going toe to toe with the 12-time Asian Champions in a nail-bitting 9-8 scoreline in the Iranians favor.

Missing from the Iran line-up is Hossein Tayyebi, who featured in the two previous editions but captain Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh has still not lost his deft touch – evident in his cheeky lob over Argentina goalkeeper Lucas Farach.

Kazakhstan

The Falcons boast the best defensive record of the tournament, having conceded just two goals in four matches.

In Group A, Kazakhstan flexed their muscles in their opener against Costa Rica winning 6-1, and a 3-0 victory against hosts Lithuania followed before being held to 1-1 draw by Venezuela to top their group.

Kazakhstan advanced to the last eight stage in style with a 7-0 win over ASEAN heavyweights Thailand in the Round of 16.

They have the best defensive record among the quarter-finalists and Iran, who have been in fine form up front, will have to be at their sharpest if they are to make the semi-finals for the second successive FIFA Futsal World Cup.

 

Head to head.

Iran never lost to the Kazakh before. Their first meeting was in the final of the AFC AFutsal Championship 2000 on 12th May. Kazakhstan was a member of AFC then before switching to UEFA.  Team Melli won 4-1 to lift yet another title. From then on, the two teams met 4 times with Iran winning 3 and drawing one. All the wins were with a margin of one goal.

 

Iran’s concern.

 

Despite winning a thrilling match against Uzbekistan and scoring 9 goals at this stage of the Futsal World Cup, all was not well with the team.

By now the whole world knows how Iran is vulnerable in defense during the power play as every time Uzbekistan deployed that plan, they scored at will! The reason for such failure is tactical and psychological.

In football and futsal for that matter, it is common knowledge that a team is most vulnerable to be scored against right after they score a goal. Elation and celebrations of the players put them at risk of forgetting their tasks. This happened repeatedly against the Uzbek team who cleverly took advantage.

The more serious of the issues, however, is the tactical shortfalls. It seems that the coaching staff was caught off guard and did not prepare the team well to counteract the power play of the opposition. Clearly, the marking was poor with goals being easily scored due to the abysmal marking.

If Nazim Al-Sharia wants to enhance the chances of Iran qualifying for the last four, he and his coaching staff must organize the defenses much better, especially during the power play. In fact, Iran’s defense was suspect through the whole tournament with the goalkeeper being the culprit in a few goals. The only decent defensive performance was against Argentina which Iran narrowly lost 2-1 to the defending champion.

There will be a lot of pressure tomorrow Mental strength and discipline have to be priorities else no tactical masterplan can help against the best defensive team of the tournament.

Injury List

Farhad Fakhim ( injured for the rest of the championship)

Hossein Tayebi (On the recovery, possible brief playing time)

 

Iran v Kazakhstan
Venue: Kaunas Arena
Kickoff: Monday, 20:00 (UTC+3)

 

Gelareh Nazemi The Iranian female futsal referee.

In the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021, Iran is not only being talked about in terms of wonderful goals, being the only Asian team amongst the best 8 in the world, wonder goals by Asghar Hassanzadeh and Mahdi Javid, there is also a lady presence that has enhanced the name of Iran amongst the global audience.

Gelareh Nazemi, the Iranian FIFA futsal referee has been short-listed for the ne3xt round of the competition until the final match. 15 referees are in the list while the rest have to say farewell to Lithuania and depart to their homeland.

In an exclusive interview with Tehran Times, the Iranian official talked about the experience of officiating in the men’s competitions:

“It’s a great feeling to be the representative of Iranian futsal – and football– in the World Cup. It was the target that I set for myself after whistling the final match of the 2018 Youth Olympics Women’s Futsal Tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now I am grateful that I’ve been able to make my dreams come true.

“I have officiated in the men’s futsal competitions in the past. It is more difficult than whistling in women’s matches. In terms of physical contact and the game’s speed, you will face more challenges in male competitions.

“Also, as a referee who has worked both in football and futsal, I can say that refereeing in futsal is much more difficult than in football because it’s full of clashes and you have to decide in a fraction of a second!” she said.

Nazemi has also officiated in the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship and the UEFA Women’s Futsal Euro 2019 semi-final contest between Spain and Russia in Portugal.

She explained the difficulty that she has faced on the way to glory: “It is a path that I started 20 years ago. During all these years, I tried with perseverance and motivation to fight all the problems in my path because I believed in my goal. People have often said that women aren’t good referees. I used it as a motivating tool. I’m sure that it will not take 20 years for those who have followed this path after me, and they will reach their goal much sooner. It is because that some of the problems that I faced in my career have been solved over the years. However, the situation is still difficult for the Iranian female referees,” Nazemi concluded.

Practicing sport with the whole cover Islamic outfit is not to the taste of everyone in Iran. In some sports, they really look quite ridiculous and handicapped thus depriving them of their true potentials. Despite the claims of the regime’s propaganda that Islamic outfit is no hindrance to practicing sports, the reality and physics say otherwise . Gelareh Nazemi, however, is the odd one out. In spite of her Hijab and refusing to shake hands with men, a tradition in a sport that has been practiced for centuries, she does look the role and hardly out of place with her uniform

Nazemi is a confident referee who was not intimidated by the occasion and the atmosphere around her In the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021. Selection for the final rounds of the tournament is a sign of approval by world Futsal Governing body FIFA for the quality of her work. Nazemi has done her country proud.

A thrilling victory for Iran’s futsal.

Futsal Team Melli defeated its regional rival Uzbekistan 9-8 in one of the most exciting and thrilling of World Cup matches to qualify for the Quarter Finals of the competition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021

In a spectacular encounter between two of Asia’s biggest teams, 12-time Asian champions Iran walked away winners to set up a quarter-final tie against Kazakhstan.

The all-Asian affair got off to an exciting start right from the get-go with both sides battling for possession with Iran opening the scoring in the first minute through captain Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, before Mahdi Javid doubled their lead in the fifth minute, courtesy of Farhad Fakhim’s assist.

The two teams last met in the 2018 AFC Futsal Championship with Iran emerging 7-1 winners but Uzbekistan – bolstered by reaching the Round of 16 for the first time – refused to be overawed and pulled one back in the ninth minute through Khusniddin Nishonov.

Uzbekistan v IR Iran - FIFA FWC2021 (5)

Iran restored their two-goal lead when Hassanzadeh turned provider for Saeid Ahmad Abbasi to find the back of the net in the 16th minute, but Uzbekistan’s persistence saw them score quick goals through Dilshod Rakhmatov and Ikhtiyor Ropiev in the 17th and 18th minutes respectively to level the tie.

Iran called their first time-out to take the edge out of Uzbekistan, which proved to be a successful move as Farhad Tavakoli struck moments into the restart.

Uzbekistan v IR Iran - FIFA FWC2021 (3)

Team Melli maintained their high tempo in the second half with Abbasi and Javid scoring their second goals of the evening in the 22nd and 25th minutes respectively.

The scintillating match continued with its thrills as Anaskhon Rakhmatov reduced Uzbekistan’s deficit in the 28th minute, but Iran’s reply was immediate through Hassanzadeh, before Moslem Oladghobad scored two minutes later to make it 8-4.

Uzbekistan v IR Iran - FIFA FWC2021 (6)

Uzbekistan, however, refused to back down and closed the gap with Ilhomjon Hamroev and Nishonov beating Iran goalkeeper Alireza Samimi in the 31st and 33rd minutes.

The goals galore, however, were not yet over as Abbasi completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute but Uzbekistan fought back with Anaskhon and Hamroev giving their side hope only for the clock to run out on them.

 

Iran Scorers

First Half

Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh (1′), Mehdi Javid (5′), Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (16′) and Farhad Tavakoli (18′)

Second Half

Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (22′), Mehdi Javid (25′), Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh (29′), Moslem Oladghobad, Saeed Ahmad Abbasi (39′)

 

 

 

 

FIFA World Futsal, Iran facing Uzbekistan.

The regional rivals, Iran and Uzbekistan meet on Friday evening for a place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021.

The two teams have met 30 times with Uzbekistan failing to win any match against Iran. The last time the two teams met in Bangkok, the match was competitive as the Uzbeks tested Team Melli to the limit managing to score 5 times, which is a rarity against Iran in Asian Competitions.

29-Jul-21

Continental Champ Bangkok

Iran vs. Uzbekistan

7    –   5 

Scorers: Farhad Tavakoli (2), Behzad Azimi , Asghar Hassanzadeh , Mahdi Javid , Saeed Abbasi (2)

Head Coach Nazim Al-Sharia has already warned his players of any complacency especially since Uzbekistan has been preparing quite well for this world cup.

Iran will go into the match with Hossein Tayebi, the leading scorer, still not fully fit for the match against Uzbekistan in the Round of 16. The head coach said that although Tayyebi has been training with the team, he is still not 100% fit enough, and will miss the Uzbekistan match.

Saeed Ahmad Abbasi and Moslem Oulad-Ghobad, two other players who had slight injuries are fully fit and available for selection.

Meanwhile, in the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021, the three-time Asian champions Japan enjoyed a dream start against Brazil when Shota Hoshi opened the scoring in the fourth minute but Ferrao responded almost immediately for Brazil, who turned on the power in the second half to confirm a quarter-final meeting with Morocco. Thailand was beaten comprehensively by Kazakhstan 7-0 while Vietnam fought gallantly against Russia but lost 3-2 and was eliminated.

Iran and Uzbekistan remain the only AFC representatives with the quarter-final having a place for One Asian Team only.

Hassanzadeh: We want to change the way people see Iran.

  • Ali Hassanzadeh is one of the best players in Asian futsal history

  • Lithuania 2021 is his fourth FIFA Futsal World Cup™

  • He’s anxious for Team Melli to receive more recognition

Argentina conceded a solitary goal in their third and final match in Group F of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021™, a goal worthy of the big stage. The move that let to it began with a backheel and ended with a stunning lob over a defender and the goalkeeper into the goal, which measures a mere three metres by two, all from fewer than ten yards out. Had it been scored by Falcao, Ricardinho or Ferrao – three of the greats of the game – the whole world would have been talking about it.

The marksman happened to be Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, who wears the shirt and the captain’s armband of IR Iran, something of which he is no doubt proud, even if it means he enjoys a lower profile than some of the game’s other leading lights. Appearing at his fourth Futsal World Cup, Hassanzadeh has a career record like few others and a talent that puts most of the world’s other futsal players in the shade. “It’s something I talk about a lot with my teammates and they always say to me: ‘If your name was Hassanzadinho, Hassanzadao or something like that, you’d be seen as one of the best players on the planet’,” he joked to FIFA.com. “I honestly don’t see it as all that important, though. The fact that I’m not seen as one of the best isn’t frustrating for me. I just try to focus on my game and to enjoy what I’m doing. That’s enough for me.”

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - SEPTEMBER 20: Ali Hassan Zadeh of Iran scores their team's first goal during the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 group F match between IR Iran and Argentina at Vilnius Arena on September 20, 2021 in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Photo by Alex Caparros - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Yet the question remains: how is it possible that a player who has won four AFC Futsal Championships, as many AFC Player of the Year awards, and who led Iran to third place at Colombia 2016 hardly ever gets a mention when the topic of the best futsal players in the world comes up for discussion? Attempting to answer that question, the winger said: “Asian teams have a technique and tactics all of their own. They play a more organized, team-oriented game that’s probably less entertaining and revolves fewer around star players. That maybe explains why our players get less exposure than the ones who play for the big European and South American teams.”

While the modest Hassanzadeh is not at all put out by the lack of praise for his individual skills, he struggles to comprehend the lack of recognition given to his team. “It’s not very often that we’re named among the favourites or the big guns in world futsal,” lamented Hassanzadeh, a key performer in that run to third at Colombia 2016, the best performance ever by an Asian team in the history of the competition. “That’s why we want to do well in the World Cup. “It shows us where we stand in relation to the other teams and it gives us more visibility than any other tournament. We’re here to change the way people see us, to change people’s opinions of Asian teams and of Iran in particular.”

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - SEPTEMBER 20: Damian Stazzone of Argentina celebrates with team mates after scoring their team's second goal during the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 group F match between IR Iran and Argentina at Vilnius Arena on September 20, 2021 in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Photo by Alexander Scheuber - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Aside from their desire for greater recognition, Team Melli has another source of motivation ahead of their last-16 tie against Uzbekistan: memories of their stoppage-time semi-final defeat to Russia at Colombia 2016. “Most of the players who are here were on the court that day,” said Hassanzadeh. “We talk about it a lot and we remember how painful it was. “We don’t want to go through that again. We’re aiming higher, though we have to be realistic.

The matches are getting tougher and tougher and the teams more and more professional. We know it will be hard, but our goal is to go one step further, to the final.” Though the Iranians just missed out on the showpiece match five years ago, they enjoyed a magnificent run to the last four, knocking out defending champions and tournament favourites Brazil in the Round of 16. It was an unforgettable achievement, made all the more so by the fact it was the last game of the legendary Falcao’s career. “It was a very special moment,” recalled Hassanzadeh, a goalscorer that day. “Nobody thought we could beat Brazil. It was a game of contrasting emotions, though. We had the immense joy of beating the world’s best team, mixed with the immense sadness of knowing we’d never see Falcao again, the most spectacular player the game has ever produced.” If  Iran’s 2016 campaign was memorable for that and other reasons, their 2021 adventure may yet end with World Cup glory and global recognition, all achieved under a captain who is not called Hassanzadao or Hassanzadinho but Ali Hassanzadeh, one of the best players in the world.

BUCARAMANGA, COLOMBIA - SEPTEMBER 21: Falcao #12 of Brazil tries for a bicycle kick as Hamid Ahmadi #5 of Iran during round of 16 match play between Brazil and Iran in the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup at Coliseo Bicentenario on September 21, 2016 in Bucaramanga, Colombia. (Photo by Victor Decolongon - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

BUCARAMANGA, COLOMBIA - SEPTEMBER 21: Ali Hassan Zadeh #7 is congratulated by teammate Mohammad Keshavarz #4 after Zadeh tied the game at 3-3 as Falcao #12 of Brazil hangs his head during round of 16 match play in the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup at Coliseo Bicentenario on September 21, 2016 in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Brazil and Iran played to a 4-4 draw after full-time. Iran went on to defeat Brazil 3-2 on penalty kicks. (Photo by Victor Decolongon - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Nazem Al-Sharia happy with the performance of Futsal Team Melli.

In a post-match interview, Seyed Mohammad Nazem Al-Sharia, the Head Coach of Futsal Team Melli commented on the loss to Argentine in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 and qualification to the Round of 16 as the second team in Group F,

 “The game against Argentina was a good match for us and one of the reasons was that the sensitivity of the Game and stress level was low as we both have already qualified. In this match, we did not go full throttle as we did not need to. It was important for us that no player gets a card and is none get injured.” Nazem Al-Sharia said.

He continued: “The referee disallowed our equalizing goal. The situation of the match would have seen a different outcome if this goal was allowed. With second place in the group, we now have to meet Uzbekistan. In my opinion, Uzbekistan is no different from Paraguay and is even better than this team.”

“The advantage of meeting Uzbekistan is that it is an Asian team and we know this opponent quite well.”  The head coach of the Iranian national futsal team stressed that his team should not underestimate Uzbekistan, noting that Uzbekistan has made a lot of progress in the last few years and has played 18 very good preparation games before the World Cup. They played against Iran, Venezuela, Argentina, and Portugal and participated in the tournament in Thailand. Uzbekistan even camped in Spain.

” I do not want to under or overestimate this team, but we have to be careful.” Nazim al-Sharia emphasized

in response to the question of what is the strength of the Uzbek team that Iran should pay attention to? “Uzbekistan is a tactical team,” he said. “They also work well on free kicks and even score good goals this way.” Nazim al-Sharia added.

Commenting on the goal by Hassanzadeh against World Champions Argentina, he went on to say ” About that “chip” goal of Hassanzadeh, Asghar is a world-class international player. Those who said that the age of the national team players has increased should also watch this goal. This player has experienced four World Cup tournaments and showed how professional and international he is scoring such a unique goal”

Nazim al-Sharia elaborated on the disallowed goal against Argentina: “This goal was disallowed by the new FIFA rules. Alireza Rafieipour was in the defensive wall of the Argentine team when he hit the ball, and this is a foul in itself. Anyway, we had a plan for this freekick, and the players executed it to perfection, except for the foul.”

About the injury list, Nazim al-Sharia commented on the situation of Hossein Tayebi, Iran star striker, and whether he will be able to play against Uzbekistan or not: “Tayebi will be scanned today to see how the player is doing.”

Iran Futsal path ahead.

Futsal Team Melli successfully navigated the group stages of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021 with two wins and a loss. By virtue of becoming second behind Argentina, the path to the semi-finals and a repeat performance of the last FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 can be achieved again.

Uzbekistan, a well-known team for Futsal Team Melli will be the opponent in the Round of 16 of the Championship. The Asian rivals will play in Vilnius on 24th September. Assuming Iran defeats Uzbekistan, they will meet the winners of Kazakhstan and Thailand in the quarter-finals.

Although they are no easy matches at the World Cup, it looks like a pretty attainable road to the semi-finals when they really will meet teams above them in the World Ranking, i.e. Spain, assuming no surprises there and the European powerhouse can defeat the opponents in the two rounds before the Semi.

 

 

Bracket

 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
22 September – Kaunas
 Venezuela
26 September – Vilnius
 Morocco
Winner Match 38
23 September – Kaunas
Winner Match 39
 Brazil
29 September – Kaunas
 Japan
Winner Match 45
22 September – Vilnius
Winner Match 46
 RFU
26 September – Kaunas
 Vietnam
Winner Match 37
23 September – Vilnius
Winner Match 40
 Argentina
3 October – Kaunas
 Paraguay
Winner Match 49
24 September – Vilnius
Winner Match 50
 Spain
27 September – Vilnius
 Czech Republic
Winner Match 43
24 September – Kaunas
Winner Match 42
 Portugal
30 September – Kaunas
 Serbia
Winner Match 47
24 September – Vilnius
Winner Match 48 Third place match
 Uzbekistan
27 September – Kaunas 3 October – Kaunas
 Iran
Winner Match 44 Loser Match 49
23 September – Kaunas
Winner Match 41 Loser Match 50
 Kazakhstan
 Thailand

 

FIFA Futsal World Ranking

Ranking

Team

Points
1  Spain 1820
2  Brazil 1804
3  Argentina 1719
4  Russia 1668
5  Iran 1629
6  Portugal 1599
7  Kazakhstan 1569
8  Italy 1510
9  Croatia 1500
10  Paraguay 1472

 

Iran Scorers:

2 Goals

 

1 goal

 

 

Iran futsal qualifies despite a narrow loss to defending champions.

Iran National Futsal Team lost against Argentina 2-1 in the final match of Group F of the FIFA futsal World Cup 2021.

Defending champion Argentina heads the group with 9 points with 3 straight wins, while Iran is second with six. Both teams qualify for the next round where Iran is expected to meet continental rivals Uzbekistan,

Iran team played a strong defensive game in the first half and held Argentina 0-0 with the help of some superb saves by Sepeher Mohammadi in goal.

In the second half, a defensive mistake led to Argentina’s first goal, and shortly after that, they scored the second. That was the cue for Iran to change plans and go into the offensive mode. Iran looked like a different team giving the world champion a tough test despite the Argentine solid defense. However, the defensive walls of Argentine were broken by a sublime world Class chip goal from Captain Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh.

Iran continued the offensive and they got the equalizer from a free-kick with another smart play, however, it was ruled out due to an alleged blocking foul. The VAR did not clearly show any sign of a positive foul but in any case, the goal was ruled out. Iran kept the pressure up to the last seconds giving Argentine a real test with some slick moves and passing. The best team in the world, Argentina was pushed to the edge in this showdown for the first time in the Futsal World Cup 2021.

It was not to be as Iran suffered its first defeat narrowly.

The performance of Futsal Team Melli this evening was a huge improvement from the last two matches. Playing such a game, Team Melli must be considered one of the contenders for the cham[pionship.

Mahdi Javid critical of Iran’s futsal show.

Mahdi Javid, one of the key players of Iran’s national futsal team said: “If we play like what we did against the United States in future games, we will be punished.”

Mahdi Javid told ISNA after Iran’s victory against the United States: “Although we won the game, I think we did not see an interesting game from Iran. There is a lot of expectation from the Iranian team, but everyone saw that Serbia was a worthy team and showed in front of Argentina that it is one of the good teams in this championship.”

He added: “In two games, we did not fully show what our futsal is capable of, and if we are to play in the next games with this standard, we will be severely punished and we will not qualify.” Javid emphasized that we should appear better in this competition: we got six points but we did not show real quality. We hope to have a better start to the match against Argentina.

Commenting about whether Iran’s strategy is to be second in the group in order to be on an easier path: “Nobody has talked to us about being second in the group. Our goal is to qualify as a leader or second in the group. We are waiting to see what the strategy of the technical staff is.”