HO CHI MINH CITY: Futsal powerhouse Iran blasted their way into their seventh consecutive AFC Futsal Championship final on Thursday with a 4-1 defeat of Uzbekistan.

Iran have imperiously kept the title under lock and key since the tournament started in 1999 and will have to get past archrivals Japan in the final on Saturday for a record seventh crown.

Japan have suffered the agony of being tripped up by Team Melli in the last three finals and would be relishing the opportunity of extracting revenge this time round since the Iranians are not at their arrogant best.

Iran had defeated Uzbekistan in the 2001 final and yesterday rammed down all opposition with goals from Raise Maged in the third minute and five minutes later through Mohammad Hashemzadeh, who lobbed the ball behind Uzbek goalkeeper Rustam Umarov to make it 2-0. Then Vahid Shamsaee unleashed a brace in the 13th and 15th minutes and underlined the Iranians' supremacy. Uzbekistan managed to pull one back through Aleksandr Korolev only in the second half, four minutes from time.

"Today my players understood the strategy and were more confident," said Iran coach Jurandir Azeredo. "They know how important this tournament is."

About the final against Japan, Jurandir said that his boys' vast experience would be the deciding factor. "We are experienced enough and if we keep the mistakes to a minimum in the final we will win."

"We are disappointed with the way we played today," said Oleg Ivanov, coach of Uzbekistan. "We had some problems with our co-ordination."