Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ashgabat: An exciting match awaits on Saturday as Islamic Republic of Iran will face Thailand in the quarter-finals of the Ashgabat 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games men's futsal.
IR Iran booked their place after beating Kyrgyz Republic 10-0 on Thursday to top Group D as Japan avoided facing the defending champions by beating Thailand 6-4 in Group C.
IR Iran’s Saeid Ahmadabbasi and Farhad Tavakoli stole the show with eight goals between them while Ahmad Esmaeilpour scored the 10th goal a minute before the final whistle.
Ahmadabbasi finished with five goals scoring in the ninth,11th, 18th, 23rd and 32nd minutes while Farhad fired three in the 17th, 24th and 34th minutes.
Kyrgyz Republic’s Dilshat Kadyrov conceded an own goal in the 27th minute.
Ahmadabbasi who has scored six goals in the competition, says his teammates are focused on their fifth title.
"Every match we played against Thailand has always been difficult and very hard. We are concentrated on the next one and we have to remember we are the (reigning) champions and we came here to win one more time," said Ahmadabbasi .
"It doesn't matter which team is on our way. We are just concentrated and focussed on the title," he added.
Japan, meanwhile, survived a late fightback from Thailand to top their group as they face Jordan – who beat Tahiti 3-0 in their last group match – in the last eight.
Japan led 2-1 at halfime with goals from Kasho Tamura in the fifth minute and Yuki Murota (14th) as Suphawut Thueanklang pulled one back with a penalty strike in the 13th minute.
The Samurai Five added three more after the break through Atsuya Uemura (22nd), Takashi Morimura (26th) and Saito Koichi (30th), to give them a 5-1 lead.
Thailand tried to claw their way back with a late fightback as Muhammad Osamanmusa scored a brace in the 30th and 33rd while his goalkeeper Jirawat Sornwichian scored in the 34th minute to put the score at 5-4.
But the 2013 runners-up were not shaken as they silenced their opponents in 36th minute through Shimizu Kazuya as Japan held on to win 6-4.
Japan coach Bruno Jose Garcia Formoso was pleased with his team's performance against Thailand.
"They played well in that situation. It was worrying for us. But it was a good situation for my players to learn from. The best way to learn is during a match like this. We are learning match by match," said Formoso
Meanwhile, despite losing the battle against Japan, Thailand coach Jose Maria Pazos Mendez says his team is ready to take on powerhouse IR Iran in the quarter-finals.
"We only came into the game during this power play. It was a gamble but it didn't come off. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But throughout the game Japan played with an attitude we didn't have," said Mendez.
"If there is one team in this tournament who can beat Iran it is us. But we must play better. We must change 100 per cent. We have a chance but we must push ourselves even more."
Quarter-Finals
Fixtures
IR Iran v Thailand
Japan v Jordan
Afghanistan v Turkmenistan
Vietnam v Uzbekistan
Results
Group A
Sept 21
Hong Kong 5-2 Chinese Taipei
Turkmenistan 0-1 Vietnam
Sept 20
Vietnam 2-1 Solomon Islands
Chinese Taipei 1-5 Turkmenistan
Sept 19
Vietnam 8-0 Hong Kong
Turkmenistan 4-2 Solomon Islands
Sept 18
Solomon Islands 4-3 Chinese Taipei
Hong Kong 1-7 Turkmenistan
Sept 16
Chinese Taipei 2-1 Vietnam
Solomon Islands 4-1 Hong Kong
Group B
Sept 21
UAE 3-4 Afghanistan
Uzbekistan 4-4 China PR
Sept 20
China PR 9-3 Maldives
Afghanistan 4-2 Uzbekistan
Sept 19
China PR 1-5 UAE
Uzbekistan 9-1 Maldives
Sept 18
Maldives 1-6 Afghanistan
UAE 1-5 Uzbekistan
Sept 16
Afghanistan 6-1 China PR
Maldives 1-3 UAE
Group C
Sept 21
Thailand 4-6 Japan
Sept 19
Lebanon 2-5 Thailand
Sept 18
Japan 5-2 Lebanon
Group D
Sept 21
IR Iran 10-0 Kyrgyz Republic
Jordan 3-0 Tahiti
Sept 19
Tahiti 2-4 Kyrgyz Republic
Jordan 3-7 IR Iran
Sept 18
IR Iran16-1 Tahiti
Kyrgyz Republic 1-7 Jordan
Source: asghabat2017.com