Unity, self belief secured Japan championship, says Kogure

Sun, 09 Oct, 2022

Unity, self belief secured Japan championship, says Kogure

Kuwait City: Head coach Kenichiro Kogure attributed unity and self belief as the keys to Japan lifting their fourth AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ title on Saturday. 

Japan had a rough start to their Kuwait 2022 campaign, falling 2-1 to Saudi Arabia on Matchday One of the Group Stage, but the team’s unity and self belief saw the East Asians overcome all challenges to eventually dethrone Islamic Republic of Iran with a 3-2 comeback win at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall. 

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AFC President congratulates Japan on clinching fourth AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ crown

Sun, 09 Oct, 2022

AFC President congratulates Japan on clinching fourth AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ crown

Kuala Lumpur: AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has congratulated Japan on claiming their fourth AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ title after defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran 3-2 at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall in Kuwait City on Saturday.

Kenichiro Kogure's charges showed tremendous grit to come from behind to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2014 against a dominant IR Iran side who had scored 37 goals and conceded just twice en route to the Final.

Shamsaee: IR Iran will learn from final heartbreak

Sun, 09 Oct, 2022

Shamsaee: IR Iran will learn from final heartbreak

Kuwait City: Islamic Republic of Iran were unable to defend their AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ title after falling 3-2 to Japan in the Kuwait 2022 final, and head coach Vahid Shamsaee hopes his players can learn from Saturday's heartbreaking defeat. 

Iran opened the scoring at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall through Saied Ahmad Abbasi’s 15th-minute strike, only for Kazuya Shimizu to cancel out their lead a minute later. 

Despite Shamsaee's side dominating,  Japan took the lead in the second half through Arthur Oliveira’s sublime free-kick, and went further behind when Abbasi scored an own goal in the final minute, with Alireza Javan Shahkali’s last ditch effort coming too late as Iran were denied a record-extending 13th title.

Synergy led to Uzbekistan’s third-place finish, says Akhmedov

Sun, 09 Oct, 2022

Synergy led to Uzbekistan’s third-place finish, says Akhmedov

Kuwait City: Head coach Bakhodir Akhmedov credited the synergy between Uzbekistan’s young and experienced players for the Central Asian side’s third-place finish in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 on Saturday. 

Uzbekistan were simply unstoppable after bouncing back from a goal down to defeat Thailand 8-2 at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall. 

#AFCU17 Qualifiers - MD5 Results & Reports

Mon, 10 Oct, 2022

#AFCU17 Qualifiers - MD5 Results & Reports

Kuala Lumpur: The AFC U17 Asian Cup™ 2023 Qualifiers came to an end after an enthralling day of action on Sunday. 

Japan (Group A), Malaysia (Group B), Qatar (Group C), Saudi Arabia (Group D), Yemen (Group E), Vietnam (Group F), Australia (Group G), Tajikistan (Group H), Islamic Republic of Iran (Group I) and Uzbekistan (Group J) advanced as the group winners. 

Advancing to the Finals as the best six runners-up were Korea Republic (Group J),  China PR (Group G), Afghanistan (Group H), India (Group D), Thailand (Group F) and Laos (Group I).

'Dream a little longer': KL City stars react to AFC Cup heroics

Sat, 08 Oct, 2022

'Dream a little longer': KL City stars react to AFC Cup heroics

Kuala Lumpur: Kuala Lumpur City FC created history on Wednesday when they booked their ticket to the AFC Cup™ 2022 final after defeating Uzbekistan’s PFC Sogdiana on penalties following a goalless draw to line up a date with Oman’s Al Seeb Club in the Malaysian capital on October 22. 

The Inter-Zone final victory in Jizzakh continues a remarkable rise for a club that was playing second-tier football as recently as 2020 before going on to defeat domestic powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim to win their first Malaysia Cup for more than three decades last season and qualify for a maiden AFC Cup. 

And they did not stop there, with KL City advancing from their group before overcoming Vietnam’s Viettel FC and Indonesia’s PSM Makassar to win the ASEAN Zone and then defeating India’s ATK Mohun Bagan in Kolkata in the Inter-Zone semi-finals. 

As the dust now settles on the shootout success in Uzbekistan and yet another result that will go down in the club’s history, the-AFC.com looks at how The City Boys have reacted to their latest triumph.