Courtesy: The AFC.com


Iraq begin in style

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

DOHA: Iraq began their 2010 AFC Futsal Championship West Zone qualifying campaign in style thrashing Jordan 6-2 while Bahrain were held 4-4 by Lebanon at the Al Gharafa Stadium on Tuesday.

Karrar Mohsin and Hashim Khalid scored two goals each for Assad Al Hamdani’s team while Abdulrazzaq Abu-Alhail and Admon Hanna added one each in their Group B game. Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Yousef reduced the deficit for Jordan.

In Group A, Hayssam Atwi and Khaled Takaji netted two goals each for Lebanon while Sadiq Marhoon (two), Abdulla Abbas and Ahmed Abdul Rasool scored one each for Bahrain.

Top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals and top three teams from the zone will qualify for the tournament proper.

Hosts Qatar will meet Bahrain on Wednesday while Kuwait will face Jordan on the same day.

The South-Central Zone matches are scheduled to begin next month while ASEAN zone teams will compete in Indonesia from February 20 to 25 next year.

The East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) has designated the qualifiers, to be played from November 24 to 29 in Beijing, as their official regional tournament.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the crossover semi-finals in their respective zones with only the top three going through to the Finals.

Reigning champions Iran, runners-up Thailand, Japan and 2010 edition hosts Uzbekistan have direct entry into the tournament proper.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com