Futsal final heartbreak for Thais
HOSTS THAILAND were denied a home victory and a first title in the final of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup on Apr 28 when they lost to Iran 4-1.
Asian powerhouse Iran produced a dominant performance to defeat the hosts with relative ease to secure a historic 13th AFC Futsal Asian Cup title at the Bangkok Arena.
The Iranians seized control from the very start of the match 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 scored their goals through Mahdi Karimi, Saeid Ahmad Abbasi, Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh and Mohammadi, while Jirawat Sornwichian scored Thailand’s only goal of the match.
“I’m very sad for the Thailand fans, but at the same time, we lost to a superior team,” Thailand head coach Miguel Rodrigo said after the game, adding that he felt his side could have done better.
Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaei was delighted with his teams’ record win, saying post-match: “I remember the day we lost the 2022 final against Japan. I had to apologise to everyone.
“Today, I’m happy that they stayed patient with me and I want to dedicate this trophy to everyone back home.”
The Thai team reached the final after they edged Tajikistan 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out after their semifinal ended 3-3 after extratime at the Indoor Stadium Hua Mark in Bangkok on Apr 26.
It was heartbreak for
Tajikistan in their maiden semi-final appearance who led 3-1 at one point before Alongkorn Janphon scored for the Thais and then Therdsak Charoenphong levelled the score with two minutes left to force the game into extra-time.
No goal was added in the extra-time, leading to the penalty shoot-out where Narongsak Wingwon scored the winner to secure Thailand’s third final appearance in the competition.
Iran had beaten Uzbekistan in a penalty shoot-out 5-4 after both teams finished tied 3-3 after extra time in their semi-final encounter.