Tag: Saeid Ahmad Abbasi

30/10/202430/10/2024

Saeid Ahmad-Abbasi AFC Futsal Player of the Year

Seoul: Iran stalwart Saeid Ahmad Abbasi was named the latest AFC Futsal Player of the Year at the AFC Annual Awards Seoul 2023 on Tuesday.

Abbasi continued a proud Iranian tradition in the award’s history by becoming the sixth different player from his nation to win, following in the footsteps of record four-time recipient Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, Vahid Shamsaei, Mohammad Taheri, Mohammad Keshavarz and Moslem Oladghobad.

Having been edged to the prize by Oladghobad in 2022, there was no denying Abbasi on his second nomination after his eye-catching tournament display at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024.

#AFCAwards2023 AFC Futsal Player of the Year

The 32-year-old scored in five of Team Melli’s six matches, including in the Final, to finish with eight goals and one assist as they clinched a record-extending 13th triumph. The success was sweet redemption for the Central Asians, who had relinquished their crown in 2022, and Abbasi also took home the Most Valuable Player and Yili Top Scorer trophies.

Born in Tonekabon, Abbasi first donned international colours in 2017 and the pivot recently returned to IR Iran by joining Giti Pasand in June after spending time abroad with Spain’s Viña Albali Valdepeñas since November 2022.

Photo: Robertus Pudyanto/FIFA

28/04/202428/04/2024

Futsal Team Melli powers to 13th title

SUN, 28 APRIL, 2024

Bangkok: I Iran waltzed their way to a record-extending 13th title with a 4-1 win over Thailand in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Thailand 2024 final on Sunday.

Iran seized control from the start at the Bangkok Arena to deny Thailand a maiden title as the Central Asian side made up for losing to Japan in the decider of the 2022 edition.

Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaei was glad his side had redeemed themselves from losing the 2022 final.

“I remember the day I lost the 2022 final against Japan. I had to apologize to everyone, especially to the Iranian fans. Today, I’m happy that they stayed patient with me and I want to dedicate this trophy to everyone back home, especially my late father, who did not see me win the trophy as a head coach,” said Shamsaei.

Thailand head coach Miguel Rodrigo felt his side could have done better.

“I’m very sad for the Thailand fans, they truly deserve another game. We played with our hearts and I will never forget this day, that we played in the final at Bangkok Arena. I’m very disappointed but at the same time, we lost to a superior team,” said Rodrigo.

Iran got off to a fine start, taking the lead in the first minute off a set-piece situation when Salar Aghapour teed-up Mahdi Karimi, who finished into the bottom corner of the net from the top of the arc.

Thailand, despite being urged on by the partisan crowd, struggled to break through, with Krit Aransanyalak finding his advances on the right flank consistently halted by Iran’s solid defending.

Thailand keeper Arut Senbat was kept on his toes, having to block Karimi’s forced drive from the left flank, before seeing Alireza Rafiei Pour pull his effort wide from inside the box.

The hosts had their first look on goal in the fourth minute when Alongkorn Janphon lost his marker at the centre before playing the ball square to the advancing Therdsak Charoenphong, who fired his effort over the bar.

A lapse in concentration saw Thailand concede again in the fifth minute when Mohammadreza Sangsefidi played the ball on for the overlapping Moslem Oladghobad on the right flank, who supplied a pinpoint cross for Saeid Ahmad Abbasi to score his eighth goal of the tournament.

Thailand refused to concede defeat, with Suphawut Thueanklang seeing his set-piece effort saved by Iran keeper Bagher Mohammadi, who then did well to force Panut Kittipanuwong’s shot wide in a one on one situation.

The onus was on Thailand to find their way back and they did so in spectacular fashion in the 25th minute when Jirawat Sornwichian exchanged passes with Muhammad Osamanmusa before darting through centre and chipping the ball over Mohammadi.

A relentless Iran responded two minutes later off a set-piece situation when Sangsefidi lofted the perfect cross to an unmarked Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh to volley home to regain their two-goal advantage.

Thailand, desperate to reduce the deficit in the second half, opted for the power play, but the move proved costly in the 34th minute as Mohammadi gained possession in his area before lofting the ball over to score Iran’s fourth to confirm his nation’s 13th AFC Futsal Asian Cup title.

22/04/202422/04/2024

Futsal Team Melli with a perfect record after defeating Kuwait.

Bangkok: Iran were at their best as they sailed 4-0 past Kuwait in their AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand™ 2024 Group D tie at the Hua Mark Indoor Arena on Monday.

The victory meant Iran topped the table with nine points with a quarter-final against Kyrgyz Republic next in their bid to win a 13th title.

Defeat for Kuwait meant elimination as debutants Afghanistan finished ahead of them on goal difference with both teams tied on four points.

Kuwait needed just a draw to reach the knockout stage and were the first to settle with Naser Alalban almost finding a way through on the right before Iran’s Mohammadhossein Derakhshani pulled off a fine tackle to clear the danger.

The momentum switched instantly in Iran’s favour as Kuwait keeper Fahad Alkhawari had to repel a series of shots, first a rocket of an effort from Moslem Oladghobad in the third minute, followed by attempts from Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh and Mohammadreza Sangsefidi.

The goal finally arrived for Iran in the eighth minute when Ali Akrami showed his individual brilliance, dribbling past his marker down the right flank before scoring from a tight angle with the ball taking a deflection off Abdulrahman Altawail.

Kuwait almost equalised in the 15th minute when Alalban gained possession from Iran’s Oladghobad down the right flank, exchanging passes with Altawail before squandering his effort at the end.

Iran increased their tally in the 17th minute when Karimi squared the ball to Salar Aghapour, whose shot took a deflection off Kuwait’s Ahmad Alfarsi before sailing past Alkhawari.

Kuwait were desperate to reduce the deficit but their full-court press was ineffective when Alalban lost the ball to Saeid Ahmad Abbasi, who struck cooly from the halfway line into an unattended net to put the score 3-0 going into the break.

Kuwait started the second half with the same intensity as the first half and threatened with Saleh Alfadhel testing Iran keeper Saeid Momeni from distance, while Altawail could only hit the side netting when he forced his effort from down the right flank in the 26th minute.

09/10/2022

Iran loses the Futsal final to Japan.

the-afc.com

Kuwait City: Japan beat Iran 3-2 to lift the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 title at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall on Saturday.

Kenichiro Kogure’s side showed tremendous grit to come from behind to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2014, taking their overall tally to four titles.

Iran, who had scored 37 goals en route to reaching the final, started as aggressively as ever with Hossein Tayebi and Alireza Rafiei Pour making early attempts at goal.

As head coach Kenichiro Kogure had anticipated, Japan were forced to play defence against Iran’s incessant pressure, with their best chances coming from counter-attacks and set-pieces.

Japan captain Arthur Oliveira, however, nearly stunned the defending champions in the eighth minute when his attempt off Soma Mizutani’s pass rocked the crossbar.

Iran almost paid a price again for their aggression a minute later after committing a foul at the edge of the box, but Oliveira’s free-kick was superbly saved by Saied Momeni.

Iran, however, continued to play their style of attacking futsal and after 15 minutes of testing Guilherme Kuromoto, Saied Ahmad Abbasi collected Mahdi Karimi’s pass and let loose a superb shot into the bottom right corner to open the scoring.

Japan, the only other team to have won the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, were unfazed and drew level a minute later when Mohammedhossein Derakhshani failed to intercept Kuromoto’s long-range throw into the final third, allowing Kazuya Shimizu to equalise with a brilliant right-footed shot.

Iran looked to close the first half strongly but Tayebi and Abbasi’s efforts were denied by Kuromoto’s quick reflexes as both sides entered the halftime break with the title still very much up for grabs.

Iran’s waves of attacks continued in the opening minutes of the second half with Abbasi and Moslem Oladghobad forcing parries out of Kuromoto in the opening minutes but Rafiei Pour’s foul on Shimizu in the 27th minute gave Japan a lifeline.

Oliveira stepped up to take the free-kick and the skipper made no mistake as he smashed his effort home to put Japan ahead for the first time.

The goal stunned Iran – who had only conceded two goals in their previous five matches – into action as they increased the intensity of their attacks in search of the equaliser.

Iran would have equalised moments later through Abbasi’s strike if it weren’t for Kuromoto’s fine save, with the keeper standing tall against Salar Aghapour’s effort in the 29th minute to maintain Japan’s lead.

With the clock ticking, Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaee employed power play for the first time in Iran’s campaign with Tayebi donning the keeper’s jersey in the 36th minute.

Tayebi came closest in the 39th minute with his strike deflecting off the upright but there was to be more woe for Iran with Abbasi slotting the ball into the back of his own net in the final 30 seconds.

Iran pulled one back through Alireza Javan Shahkali with a second left on the clock but it was meant to be Japan’s final to celebrate.

04/10/202205/10/2022

Iran turns on the style against Vietnam

the-afc.com
Kuwait City 04 Oct. 2022

Iran edged closer to a record-extending 13th AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ title after an impressive 8-1 win over Vietnam in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Iran, who scored their fourth consecutive victory en route to making the Kuwait 2022 semi-finals, will face Thailand – who defeated Tajikistan 3-2 – next.

Just as Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaee had predicted, Vietnam adopted a defensive approach but the defending champions wasted no time in testing goalkeeper Ho Van Y through Salar Aghapour and Hossein Tayebi’s early efforts.

Ho then denied Saeid Ahmad Abbasi and Mohammadhossein Bazyar in the fifth and sixth minutes respectively to keep his side in the game.

The Vietnam keeper, however, could do little to stop Tayebi’s incredible strike in the seventh minute, with the Iran skipper volleying home Moslem Oladghobad’s corner-kick for a deserved lead.

Iran, who scored a whopping 24 goals to top Group C, displayed their attacking brilliance in the 10th minute when Abbasi teed up Aghapour (pictured above), who let loose a scorching right-footed strike from over 20 metres out into the top right corner, before Alireza Rafiei Pour (pictured below) drilled home their third goal moments later from a corner-kick set-piece.

Vietnam could have been further adrift in the 11th minute after committing their sixth foul, but Alireza Javan failed to convert from the second penalty spot.

Desperate to stay in the game, Vietnam initiated power play in the 11th minute but found no openings to exploit.

Instead, Iran further widened their lead in the 16th minute when Oladghobad intercepted a pass before relaying it to Tayebi to place the ball in an empty goalmouth.

Vietnam, forced to play on the counter-attack, had a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit in the 24th minute when Rafiei Pour was penalised for handling the ball at the edge of the box, but the Southeast Asians failed to capitalise.

At the other end, there was no stopping Iran, with Bazyar converting a corner-kick from close range effort in the 25th minute, before Oladghobad’s left-footed strike beat Ho a minute later to make it 6-0.

Vietnam tried to limit the damage by pressing the Iranians with man-to-man marking, but Tayebi completed his hat-trick in the 33rd minute after Abbasi’s initial shot deflected off the upright.

Abbasi netted the eighth three minutes later with Vietnam then scoring a consolation – amazingly only the second goal Iran have conceded in the tournament – through Pham Duc Hoa.

02/10/202202/10/2022

Group C: Iran end group stage with another sizzling show

the-afc.com

Sunday, 02 October 2022

Kuwait City: Defending champions Iran defeated Lebanon 9-0 to end their AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 Group C campaign with a perfect record of three wins on Sunday.

The 12-time champions will face Vietnam in the quarter-finals, having booked their place in the knockout stage with a match to spare.

Iran were left frustrated by Lebanon’s early resistance with the West Asians threatening in the third minute through Fadi Greij’s shot, while at the other end Saeid Ahmad Abbasi did well to control Saeid Momen’s long throw but hit his half-volley high above the bar.

Iran gradually took control with Hossein Tayebibidgoli missing the target from just inside the box before Mohammadhossein Bazyar’s forced effort off a corner was easily collected by Lebanon keeper Karim Joueidi.

Iran finally broke the deadlock in the eighth minute with Salar Aghapour netting a beautiful individual effort, shooting into the top right corner.

Alireza Shahkhali was twice denied by the bar before he set up Tayebibidgoli in the 17th minute for the second goal, with Mustafa Rhyem then scoring an own goal.

Lebanon suffered more woe after Mouhammad Hammoud was forced out of the game through injury in the 18th minute, with Moslem Oladghobad then adding Iran’s fourth from distance.

There was no denying Iran’s superiority as they scored their fifth goal a minute into the restart through Bahman Jafari’s long-range effort before Oladghobad netted again seven minutes later.

Bahman Jafari’s long-range effort before Oladghobad netted again seven minutes later.

Lebanon tried to stem the tide but their efforts fell flat as Iran stretched their lead in the 27th minute with Mahdi Karimi scoring from the halfway line into an unattended goalmouth before Aghapour added his second goal five minutes later from close range.

Tayebibidgoli capped the victory in the 39th minute, beating two defenders on the turn before slotting home.

RANK	TEAM	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	IRAN	3	3	0	0	24	1	23	9
2	INDONESIA	3	2	0	1	11	8	3	6
3	CHINESE TAIPEI	3	0	1	2	3	15	-12	1
4	LEBANON	3	0	1	2	3	17	-14	1

28/09/2021

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.

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.

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.

24/09/2021

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.

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.

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, 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′)