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.