Courtesy:
The AFC.comUzbekistan 4-3 ChinaFriday, 28 May 2010Tashkent: Uzbekistan are through to the final of the AFC Futsal Championship 2010 after the tournament hosts edged China 4-3 in front of a bumper crowd at Uzbekistan Sports Complex on Friday.
Cheered on by a partisan home crowd, the Uzbeks battled back from a half-time deficit to get the better of a resilient China with Fakhriddin Samegov's 33rd minute goal sealing the win.
The victory means Uzbekistan will play in their first final since 2006, when they were beaten 5-1 by Japan.
The game was unsurprisingly close from the start but Artur Yunusov opened the scoring for the hosts in the second minute before Li Xin levelled two minutes later.
Li then put China ahead with an eighth minute goal and completed his hat-trick in the 19th minute but Samegov grabbed a crucial goal before the break to make it 3-2 at the interval.
Nodir Elibaev equalised for Uzbekistan four minutes after the restart and the pace of the game slowed down after that with both sides eager not to make a mistake.
However, Samegov got his second of the day seven minutes before time to send the home fans into raptures.
The defeat denied China a place in the final of the AFC Futsal Championship once again but they will have the chance to better their previous best finish of fourth at the tournament in the third place play-off on Sunday.
Uzbekistan, meanwhile, will be hoping to seal their first-ever AFC Futsal Championship title later that day.
Courtesy:
The AFC.comFans fired us to final says SapoFriday, 28 May 2010Tashkent: Uzbekistan coach Sergio Sapo dedicated the team's 4-3 semi-final win over China on Thursday to the nation's people as they kept alive their hopes of claiming a maiden AFC Futsal Championship title.
Thousands of fans packed out the Uzbekistan Sports Complex to cheer their side to victory over a resilient Chinese side that were bidding for a first appearance in the final of the tournament.
Artur Yunusov opened the scoring for the hosts but China hit back with two quick goals from Li Xin be fore both Li and Fakhriddin Samegov scored in the 19th minute to make it 3-2 to the visitors at half time.
But Uzbekistan rallied after the break and equalised through Nodir Elibaev before Samegov's 33rd minute goal clinched victory.
Uzbekistan will make their first appearance in the final in four years as they hope to lift the AFC Futsal Championship trophy having fallen just short on two previous occasions.
“This is not just the victory for the team. This is a victory for the Uzbekistan people and I sincerely would like to thank all our fans.” said Brazilian coach Sapo.
“Regarding the match, I want to point out that we won through hard work and courage. We tried to avoid making mistakes as much as p ossible.”
China coach Guilherme Da Silveira felt the defeat was perhaps a little unfair on his players but believes the game was a great spectacle for the fans.
“In my opinion, if the match had finished 3-3 it would have been much fairer than what we got at the end,” he said.
“But nothing can be changed and I want to congratulate all the fans of futsal, they have witnessed a great game with both teams playing well.”
Da Silveira also reserved praise for the fans that attended the game and feels their support could give Uzbekistan the edge in Sunday's final.
“In addition, I was delighted with the atmosphere throughout the match. I can see how the fans are making an invaluable contribution to their team's victory.”
Courtesy:
The AFC.comIran 7-0 JapanFriday, 28 May 2010Tashkent: Javad Asgharimoghaddam scored a hat-trick as defending champions Iran marched into the final of the AFC Futsal Championship 2010 with a 7-0 victory over Japan at Uzbekistan Sports Complex on Friday.
Hossein Shams' side have only failed to win the tournament once in the last decade and they certainly appear as though they will take some stopping following a dominant performance over 2006 champions Japan, who prior to the game had only conceded twice in four matches.
Iran must now prepare for Sunday's final against hosts Uzbekistan, who earlier beat China 4-3, and the game undoubtedly promises to be an enthralling encounter.
Masoud Daneshvar got the ball rolling in this match with a goal inside the first minute before adding a second 11 minutes later.
But that proved to be the last goal of the first half with neither side able to find a way past the opposing goalkeeper.
Iran though, once again highlighted their credentials as tournament favourites with Mostafa Tayyebi grabbing a third for his side in the 21st minute before Asgharimoghaddam got his first of the night three minutes later.
Asgharimoghaddam scored again in the 27th minute and then put the game beyond the Japanese when he completed his hat-trick with nine minutes remaining.
Mohammad Keshavarz Nasrabadi wrapped up the scoring for Iran in the 35th minute to complete a miserable evening for Japan.
Iran's showdown with Uzbekistan will be the first time the two sides have met in the final of the tournament since 2001, when the former eased to a 9-0 victory.
Courtesy:
The AFC.comFamiliarity breeds content for imperious IranFriday, 28 May 2010Tashkent: Iran coach Hossein Shams admitted past experience of playing Japan enabled the defending champions to use the right tactics and secure their passage to the AFC Futsal Championship 2010 final with ease following a 7-0 win at Uzbekistan Sports Complex on Friday.
The Iranians will now bid for a stunning 10th Asian title when they tackle hosts Uzbekistan on Sunday in a repeat of the 2001 final, which ended in the former's favour.
Masoud Daneshvar opened the scoring against Japan after just one minute before adding a second 11 minutes later but that proved to be the last goal before the break.
Needing to claw back the two-goal deficit Japan went on the offensive after the restart and Iran took full advantage of the gaps in defence with Javad Asgharimoghaddam scoring a hat-trick and Mostafa Tayyebi and Mohammad Keshavarz Nasrabadi also getting on the score-sheet.
Five of the last seven AFC Futsal Championship finals have seen Iran tackle Japan and on each occasion the Iranians came out on top.
“This game was not the first time we have met the Japanese team so we knew all about their strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
“When we scored our second goal I realised that our rivals would put all their players outfield and that enabled us to go on and get such a great result.”
Defeated coach Miguel Rodrigo believes to beat Iran at the moment is almost impossible and conceded they were better than his side in almost every department.
The Japanese had been impressive in their run to the semi-finals with fourth successive victories during which they scored 20 goals and conceded just two.
But they were ultimately outclassed by Iran and Rodrigo had no qualms with the result.
“Iran have once again confirmed their status and to fight against them is practically impossible," he said.
“We tried to play well in this game but Iran were extremely good at making the most of their chances. The Iranians were stronger than us and showed their class and physical ability.”
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