Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Nassau: The Islamic Republic of Iran advanced to the semi-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup for the first time in their history on Thursday (local time) with a thrilling 4-3 win after extra time against Switzerland.
Iran captain Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored the opening goal of the match with an overhead kick. He then put Iran two goals in front with a superb volley direct from a throw-in.
Switzerland then sprung to life and came all the way back from two goals down to take a 3-2 lead in the second period. The country's all-time top scorer in the tournament Dejan Stankovic started their resurgence with a flicked finish. Glenn Hodel then scored a pair of goals to give the Swiss a one-goal lead.
With less than a minute on the clock, Ali Nazem scored a clutch goal for Iran to force the match into extra time. Iran then made history when Mohammed Mokhtari redirected Amir Akbari's shot into the net to score the winning goal.
Switzerland: STANKOVIC 16'22", HODEL, 17'50",22'05"
Iran: AHMADZADEH 3'54", 13'57", NAZEM 35'03", M.MOKHTARI 38'09"
WATCH THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS HERE
Sources: FIFA/Getty Images