Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: Farhad Tavakoli scored four as Iran cruised into the final of the AFC Futsal Championship with a 13-1 semi-final victory over Vietnam at Uzbekistan Stadium on Friday.
Mahdi Javid opened and closed the first-half scoring, while Tavakoli scored a treble and Hamid Ahmadi and Hossein Tayebi were also on the scoresheet as a dominant Iran scored seven times with Phung Trong Luan netting for Vietnam.
The second half continued in the same vein with a fourth for Tavakoli followed by Alireza Vafaei’s first of the tournament and Tayebi’s brace.
Javid then scored his hat-trick before a late double from captain Mohammad Keshavarz wrapped up the scoring to set up a date with Uzbekistan in Sunday’s final after the hosts secured a penalty shootout victory over Thailand in Friday’s other last four encounter.
Tournament favourites Iran were on the front foot from the off with Ghodrat Bahadori shooting across the face of goal and wide in the first minute.
A minute later the West Asians took the lead when Vietnam failed to clear their lines following an Iran attack allowing Javid to toe-poke under goalkeeper Nguyen Van Huy from a metre out.
Mohammad Nazemalsharie’s Iran were in complete control but Vietnam’s Nguyen Bao Quan and Duong Anh Tung both shot wide when they were presented with sights on goal.
But Iran then scored twice in the eighth minute, first when Tavakoli evaded the Vietnam defence to deliver a perfect finish from the left side of the box and then when the same player tapped home Bahadori’s cross.
Worse was to follow for Bruno Formoso’s side when Bahadori claimed another assist by teeing up Ahmadi to side-foot into the back of the net in the 13th minute before Tayebi added a fifth four minutes before the interval.
But Vietnam pulled one back soon after as Trong Luan finished from close in following Nguyen Minh Tri’s centre from the right.
The game was all but over by half-time, though, as Tavakoli powered home his hat-trick in the 20th minute before Javid notched his brace.
Iran refused to let up in the second half as Tavakoli grabbed his fourth of the night in the 22nd minute after having only scored once in his side’s first four matches before Alireza Vafaei got in on the act in the 25th minute.
Top scorer Tayebi then scored his 11th of the tournament from close in as Iran took their tally into double figures and Javid poked home his treble in the 32nd minute.
And Keshavavarz added two more in the closing minutes to complete a miserable night for Vietnam.
Photo: AFC