Iraq missed out on a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship on goal difference despite a 6-1 win over Tajikistan on Sunday.

Mustafa Bachay and Hasan Ali each scored twice while Waleed Khalid and Karrar Al Thabeti were also on target at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium as Iraq recorded a second win in Group A, with Khurshed Makhmudov netting for Tajikistan in the first half.

But with tournament hosts Vietnam beating Kuwait 2-1, Iraq missed out due to an inferior goal difference when comparing the head-to-head records between themselves, Vietnam and Kuwait after all three teams finished level on six points.

“We won but it was not enough,” said despondent Iraq coach Haitham Abbas.

“The tournament has been a very good experience as we also played against Vietnam and Kuwait.

“This is a very young team and this will help them in the future.”

With both sides needing to win, Iraq opened the scoring inside the first minute in spectacular fashion as Bachay found the net from just inside the Tajikistan half.

And despite the Tajikistan goal coming under significant pressure, Iraq were made to pay for a host of missed chances as Makhmudov’s deflected 13th minute strike beat goalkeeper Ahmed Duraid.

But Iraq regained the lead less than two minutes later as Ali kept his cool despite the presence of onrushing Tajikistan goalkeeper Shukhrat Bibudov to net from the edge of the penalty area.

Iraq extended their lead four minutes into the second half as Tajikistan were caught short at the back and Bachay exchanged passes with Khalid to cut out goalkeeper Bibudov before walking the ball into the empty net.

And Khalid got his name on the scoresheet three minutes later as Tajikistan were again outnumbered in defence and goalkeeper Bibudov was left exposed before Ali added his second some 90 seconds later with an angled strike from close to the touchline.

Makhmudov thought he had pulled a goal back for Tajikistan with just under eighth minutes remaining, but he was adjudged to have backed into Idrees Ghadhban before turning the ball past Duraid with his back to goal.

And Iraq added a sixth with just over five minutes remaining as Al Thabeti danced down the left touchline after picking the ball up inside his own half before firing past Bibudov from the edge of the area.

The final whistle drew muted celebrations for Iraq before their fate was confirmed despite Kuwait’s late goal against Vietnam.

“We are disappointed with our performances at this tournament,” said Tajikistan coach Damir Kamaletdinov.

“We need to improve technically and physically in the future.”

According to AFC

Indonesia claimed third place in Group B at the AFC Futsal Championship after recording a 4-3 win over China at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium on Sunday.

Andri Kustiawan and Caisar Silitonga each scored twice for Indonesia with neither side able to qualify for the quarter-finals following earlier defeats by Iran and Australia.

China had led 2-1 midway through the first half thanks to quickfire goals from Zhao Liang and Wang Tianyi, although Andre Lima’s side were unable to avoid a third defeat of the campaign with Agustin Andriansyah’s last minute own goal arriving too late.

“I am happy with the result and the effort of the players,” said Indonesia coach Andri Irawan.

“It is good for Indonesia to play with teams like Australia and Iran and we will work hard with this team to improve in the future.

“We will look to play better in the future. We will make this team better and grow for the future.”

With only pride and third place to play for, China almost took the lead inside the first 15 seconds as Geng Deyang hit the outside of the Indonesia post.

But it was Indonesia who opened the scoring inside three minutes as Kustiawan converted at the second attempt from close range having seen his initial effort blocked by China goalkeeper Zhu Bei.

China, though, were back on level terms just over five minutes later as Zhao’s low shot from outside of the penalty area found the bottom corner past Agus Salam’s outstretched hand.

And China completed the turnaround less than two minutes later as Zhang Wen’s pass created the angle for Wang to beat Salam at his near post from the edge of the area.

But the lead lasted less than a minute as Silitonga rounded off an eye-catching move with a composed finish past Zhu from inside the area.

And Indonesia regained the lead midway through the second half as Kustiawan’s shot with the outside of his foot from the edge of the area evaded China goalkeeper Zhu and covering defender Zhang Wen.

Adventurous China coach Lima quickly responded by introducing Zhao in place of goalkeeper Zhu with just under eight minutes remaining.

But the move backfired with just under five minutes remaining as China lost possession close to the halfway line and Silitonga found the empty net from just inside his own half.

China did pull a goal back with less than a minute remaining as Andriansyah turned Deng Tao’s pass across the face of goal into his own net, but Indonesia saw out the remaining seconds to seal the win.

“We came here to gain some experience. Of course we wanted to win, but we have a long way to go as we need time to improve. This is a very young team, the players are very young and we must work better on the futsal in China. Playing at this level is very difficult, but for the players it is a good experience,” said China coach Lima.

“This project has only just started in China and it will take three or four years as this is just the beginning. This is a new and young team and they need time to work and train.

“We will look to play friendly matches until the next tournament. We will train in China and play friendly matches inside and outside of China as only with these type of games will the players improve.”

According to AFC

Hossein Tayebi scored a first half hat-trick as 10-time champions Iran recorded a third consecutive win at the AFC Futsal Championship with Sunday’s 8-1 victory over Australia at Phu Tho Stadium securing top spot in Group C.

Mohammad Taheri, Alireza Vafaei and Vahid Shafiei also scored for Iran in the first half, with Daniel Fogarty briefly equalising for Australia after Tayebi’s earlier opener.

And with Ahmad Esmailpour and Taheri extending Iran’s advantage in the second half, Iran added to their earlier wins over Indonesia and China to set-up a quarter-final meeting with the runners-up from Group A.

Australia, meanwhile, will face the winners of Group A having seen their 100% recorded ended.

“I think that the result came totally in the first half. In the second half I wanted to score more goals and play fast, but Australia were happy with the score,” said Iran coach Jesus Candelas.

“We are going step-by-step and each game we are just trying to get a good result, but we have to win just to keep the mentality of the team positive.

“Sometimes scoring too many goals can have a negative consequence so I have to make sure my players remain focused.”

Having earlier beaten Indonesia and China, it took just 60 seconds for Iran to open the scoring as Tayebi followed up after Adam Cooper had blocked Asghar Hassanzadeh’s shot.

But Australia found themselves back on level terms as Fogarty fired into the roof of the net from Tobias Seeto’s corner.

Iran, though, regained the lead in controversial circumstances in the 10th minute as Shafiei crossed for Taheri to score with Australia calling for play to be stopped after a second ball had entered the field of play.

And Iran doubled their lead when Shafiei saw his shot from a tight angle parried by Australia goalkeeper Peter Spathis straight to the feet of Tayebi to tap in his second of the game.

Tayebi completed his first half hat-trick in the 11th minute when a long ball forward found him with just the Spathis to beat, and he kept his composure to side-step the goalkeeper and roll the ball into an empty net.

Iran’s fifth goal arrived in the 15th minute when a clearance from Cooper fell straight to the feet of Vafaei who shot low through the legs of Spathis.

And Iran went into the break with a five goal advantage when a loose pass from Greg Giovenali was intercepted by Esmailpour and Shafiei fired past Spathis.

Esmailpour further extended in the 28th minute as he stepped inside onto his right foot before placing his shot into the bottom corner.

And a minute later Esmailpour was again involved in Iran’s eighth and final goal as he played a one-two with Taheri who scored his second of the match.

“We have very rarely played at this level and before the game the players were excited to play against such a quality team,” said Australia coach Steve Knight.

“The first 10 minutes we competed, but we have very different goals to Iran and we were able to achieve some of our goals.”

According to AFC

Coach Miguel Rodrigo is looking forward to Japan’s must-win meeting with Kyrgyzstan on Monday despite the defending champions facing elimination from the AFC Futsal Championship.

Japan had seemingly made their intentions clear in Vietnam following a 12-0 win over Korea Republic in their Group D opener only to lose 2-1 to Uzbekistan on Saturday after conceding with just under eight seconds remaining.

And with Kyrgyzstan beating Korea Republic to add to their opening draw with Uzbekistan, two-time champions Japan find themselves a point adrift of the table-topping Central Asian pair heading into Monday’s meeting at Phu Tho Stadium.

“It is a final for us, but I love these types of games as every game is win-or-die. We have a young group who lack experience, but they have a lot of motivation, and playing in this type of game will be a good experience,” said Japan coach Rodrigo.

“We will look to play the same way as we did against Uzbekistan, but try to commit fewer errors.

“We will look to score as soon as possible and shut down their counterattack.”

Kyrgyzstan beat Korea 4-1 thanks to two goals from Rustam Ermekov having scored twice in the final three minutes to share a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan, and now just need a point against Japan to secure a seventh consecutive appearance in the knockout stage.

“Japan are a strong team who are the champions. I know the coach very well and he uses good tactics,” said Kyrgyzstan coach Rustam Isaev with his side looking for revenge having lost to Japan in the quarter-finals of the last three editions of the AFC Futsal Championship as well as the 2007 semi-finals.

“But we also have a good team and I think it will be a good game for our young team to play Japan. And I think we can manage it.”

Three-time finalists Uzbekistan also need to simply avoid defeat against Korea at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium to secure an 11th consecutive appearance in the knockout stage after Artur Yunusov’s header with just under eight seconds remaining saw Bahodir Ahmedov’s side edge out Japan.

“We respect Korea because we have played them many times and they always show their character,” said Ahmedov.

“And even though they have lost two games, they will try to beat us.

“We will try to get first place in our group and qualify for the next round, but it will be a tough game.”

Korea are the only side unable to advance following back-to-back defeats, although Raul Gonzalez’s side did show significant improvements against Kyrgyzstan before two late goals ended hopes of a fightback after Shin Jong-hoon had struck with nine minutes remaining.

“We will follow the same plan as from the start, and that is to improve all aspects,” said Korea coach Gonzalez.

“The game against Uzbekistan is one more game for us and we will look to improve.”

According to AFC

Former finalists Thailand as well as Malaysia, Lebanon and Chinese Taipei all head into Monday’s final round of fixtures in Group C with the chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship.

Coach Francisco Araujo has seen 2012 quarter-finalists Lebanon endure a mixed start to the tournament after coming from behind to beat Chinese Taipei 8-5 in their opening game on Thursday before suffering a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Malaysia on Saturday.

Lebanon now face 2012 runners-up Thailand, who have won both of their opening games, with Araujo’s side currently tied for second place alongside Malaysia and three points behind Monday’s opponents at Phu Tho Stadium.

“If we play like we played against Malaysia, I think we are going to lose by 25 goals,” said Araujo, who guided Lebanon to the quarter finals in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 before losing 5-3 to Thailand.

“If we don’t play with a good attitude and intensity it is impossible to win because we are playing in a tournament where teams are very well prepared.

“From what I have seen from my team in the first two games it will be difficult to win, but we still have one match, and if we win then we can get in to the quarter-finals, so we will try to win.”

Thailand beat Malaysia 7-1 in their opening game before recording a hard-fought 5-2 win against Chinese Taipei, but the 2013 AFF Futsal Championship winners could still be eliminated should they lose to Lebanon.

“We must play to win against Lebanon,” said coach Victor Hermans.

“I feel that the players have been taking it too easy, and I have a bad feeling that we are going to be punished.

“Lebanon must also win the game so our preparation is important for this game.”

Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia will meet at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium with both sides also in contention for a place in the quarter-finals.

Malaysia currently lie in second place due to a superior head-to-head record over Lebanon following Saturday’s win.

“For the last match we have a 50/50 chance to win,” said Malaysia coach Maizal Marzuk.

“We realise that Chinese Taipei are fighters and we will train hard and maybe we will use the same style of play as we did against Lebanon to make it into the next round.”

Despite losing both of their opening games having also failed to record a single point two years ago in the UAE, Chinese Taipei still have a slim chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals should they beat Malaysia with Chang Wu-Yeh’s side just three points off the pace.

“We would still like to win the game, and if we win against Malaysia, we still have a chance to make it to the quarter-finals which will be a big achievement,” said Chinese Taipei coach Chang.

“Our players have worked hard and I think they will try their best to win.”

According to AFC

Thailand maintained their 100% record at the AFC Futsal Championship 2014 following a 5-2 win against a spirited Chinese Taipei in Group C at Phu Tho Stadium on Saturday evening.

Thailand started brightly and Suphawat Thueanklang, who scored a hat-trick in Thursday’s 7-1 win over Malaysia, opened the scoring for the 2012 runners-up after just three minutes before goals from Jetsada Chudech and Piyapan Ratana put Victor Hermans’ side in a commanding position at half-time.

Kritsada Wongkaeo and Jirawat Sornwhichian also found the net for Thailand in the second half, with Chinese Taipei claiming consolation goals through Lo Chih-An and Huang Cheng-Tsung having lost their opening game 8-5 to Lebanon.

“I am not so happy, we did not play well,” said Thailand coach Hermans, who still needs to see his side claim a positive result against Lebanon on Monday to be certain of a place in the quarter-finals.

“I am asking every time to concentrate, but we did not. But in the end we won, and I think we deserved to win.

“Chinese Taipei had a very good strategy and played a lot of long balls, but we did not play well.

“My players were playing like it was training. They can be friends before and after the game, but during the game, they must not be friends.”

Suphawat did not take long to get off the mark following his heroics against Malaysia as he turned Chang Chien-Ying to fire past Pan Wen-Chieh and into the top corner after three minutes.

Jetsada then doubled Thailand’s lead a minute later when, with his back to goal, he ran across the edge of the penalty area before turning to hit a hard low shot into the bottom corner.

And the third goal came on eight minutes with Jetsada turning provider to set-up Piyapan on the sideline and he cut back inside before shooting into the top corner.

Chinese Taipei, though, never dropped their heads and restricted Thailand for the remainder of the half and even created several opportunities through Chang Hao-Wei and Liu Chi-Chao

And after Liu was again denied by Thailand goalkeeper Asming Talek at the start of the second half, the pressure finally paid off and the breakthrough arrived after 23 minutes as Lo tapped in from close range.

But the goal gave Thailand a much needed wake-up call and they soon restored their three goal lead less than a minute later as Kritsada played a neat one-two with Suphawat before finding the net.

And Thailand’s fifth arrived in the 33rd minute when Kritsada laid the ball back to Jirawat to score his third goal of the tournament.

Chinese Taipei refused to give-up though, and reduced the deficit again 30 second later when a cross-field ball from Weng Wei-Pin found Huang open at the back post to tap home his third of the tournament.

But Chinese Taipei could not find another goal and Thailand looked the more likely to score in the closing minutes with Kritsada forcing substitute goalkeeper Shih Shin-An into several good saves.

“Thailand gave us a wonderful game,” said Chinese Taipei coach Chang Wu-Yeh, who now must re-group his side to face Malaysia at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium on Monday with a place in the quarter-finals still a possibility despite two defeats.

“We let too many goals in during the first half so in the second half we wanted to try and tie the game and we tried to attack and that left us exposed.”

According to AFC

Artur Yunusov’s header with just under eight seconds remaining saw Uzbekistan snatch a dramatic 2-1 win over defending champions Japan at the AFC Futsal Championship on Saturday following an enthralling Group D contest at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium.

Japan had taken the lead courtesy of  Ryosuke Nishitani’s close range finish after nine minutes only for 2012 AFC Futsal Championship quarter-finalists Uzbekistan to equalise less than a minute later through Andrey Shlema.

And after Uzbekistan goalkeeper Rustam Umarov had kept Japan at bay during an end-to-end second half, Yunusov’s glancing header from Shuhrat Tojiboev’s hopeful long ball forward handed Uzbekistan a first win of the campaign having conceded two late goals in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Kyrgyzstan.

“It is very good for us to win and a pleasure to do it against a strong team like Japan who are one of the best,” said Uzbekistan coach Bahodir Ahmedov, who now must prepare his side to face Korea Republic on Monday in their final game in Group D.

“But this is only the first step and we will play Korea in the next game.

“Without luck you cannot play futsal or football. And of course we were lucky, but whether you win 5-0, 10-0 or 2-1, you get three points and that is what is important.”

Japan, who began the defence of their title with a 12-0 win over Korea, made an electric fast-paced start with Uzbekistan goalkeeper Umarov called into action multiple times to keep the scores level.

And the pressure finally paid off after nine minutes as Akira Minamoto’s diagonal cross-field pass from a kick-in was turned in at the back post by Nishitani.

But the lead lasted less than a minute as Shlema followed up with an emphatic first-time finish from the edge of the penalty having seen his initial strike blocked by Japan goalkeeper Hisamitsu Kawahara.

The remainder of the first half was much more of an even contest compared to Japan’s dominant opening, and the scores remained level at half-time.

Umarov, though, remained the busier goalkeeper at the start of the second half, although it was Japan custodian Kawahara who had to be at his best eight minutes after the restart to superbly beat away a rising strike from Shlema.

Counterpart Umarov was also on top of his game as the Uzbekistan goalkeeper expertly plucked Shota Hoshi’s snap-shot out of the top corner with one hand two minutes later.

And it was Umarov who was the next to test Kawahara with just under five minutes remaining as the Uzbekistan goalkeeper tried his luck from inside his own penalty area and his backpedaling opposite number had to be on his toes to push the effort one-handed over the crossbar.

Umarov was then quickly off his line to smoother at the feet of Nishitani with two minutes remaining after Uzbekistan had conceded possession on the halfway line.

Uzbekistan again had Umarov to thank with the custodian twice denying Nishitani inside the final 90 seconds.

And with the clock showing 7.8 seconds remaining, Yunusov’s glancing header on the edge of the Japan penalty area from Tojiboev’s long ball forward looped over Kawahara, who was caught out of position.

“We are Asian champions and we should not make mistakes like that in the last seconds of the game,” said Japan coach Miguel Rodrigo.

“I did have a sense we might lose before the game. But even though we didn’t play well, I believe we didn’t deserve to lose that way even though it was a tough game.”

According to AFC