All articles are courtesy:
AFCTurkmenistan to make debut in Asian futsal event20 May 2005 ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan will play in their first ever Asian Futsal competition in the forthcoming AFC Futsal Championship in Vietnam from May 22-June 4, 2005.
The Turkmen team, coached by Hamid Abdullaev of Karakum FC (Lebap), are at present training in Bangkok. They will arrive in Ho Chi Minh on Saturday. Turkmenistan are in Group A alongwith Thailand, who they play on May 23, Maldives (May 24) and China (May 26).
Turkmenistan FA General Secretary Meret Satylov is heading the team delegation.
No end in sight to long Iranian reign21 May 2005 HO CHI MINH CITY: Continental masters Iran will be hunting for their record seventh Asian title when the AFC Futsal Championship starts here in the Vietnamese capital on Sunday.
Iran have kept the title under lock-and-key for the last six years since the tournament was first held in Malaysia in 1999 and the margin of their victories has been awesome. They have not lost or drawn a single match so far in this event.
Another podium finish for Team Melli, who have redoubtable hitman Vahid Shamsaee in their ranks, is not ruled out in the seventh edition which will feature a record 24 countries in action. The four debutants this year are Turkmenistan, Qatar, Bhutan and hosts Vietnam, pointing to the growing popularity of the mini-version of football in the continent.
Iran will be bossing around Kuwait, Lebanon and Bhutan in Group C, while last year’s runners-up Japan will be flexing their muscles in Group E where the others are Malaysia, Indonesia and Guam.
Japan, who announced their arrival on the futsal scene with a sterling performance in the same event in 2001, have tasted defeat at the hands of the classy Iranians in the last three finals and know they will have to do more to prise open their rivals’ grip on the trophy.
There are six groups this time and a new format has been introduced to make the tournament, which will be played at the Phu Toh and Army Zone stadiums, more exciting. Teams which fail to qualify for the top eight positions will play in the Plate competition.
The top six group finishers and the two best runners-up will be divided further into two groups and play against each other instead of the usual knockout format. The top four teams will then advance to the semi-finals. The final will be played on June 4, 2005.
Kyrgyzstan defeat hosts Vietnam 4-1 in Group F22 May 2005 HO CHI MINH CITY: Kyrgyzstan defeated hosts Vietnam 4-1 in the opening match of the AFC Futsal Championship on Sunday here at the Phu Tho stadium.
Vietnam are playing in this tournament for the first time and Kyrgyzstan were too good for the debutants. Kenjisariev Emil started the scoring for Kyrgyzstan in the third minute of the Group F tussle and went on to score two more in the ninth and 18th minutes. The fourth goal was scored by captain Pestryakov Andrey in the 11th minute.
Le Quoc Khuong did well to pull one back for the hosts in the 15th minute. All the goals came in the first half which is played over 20 minutes.
"We are satisfied with the result of the match," said Kyrgyz team coach Djeytybaev Nurtazin. "But the players didn't turn in a good performance."
Vietnam coach Duong Vu Lam blamed the lack of time in preparing for the competition. "This is the first time we are playing in this event and you can see our physical fitness is not upto the mark," said Vu Lam.
"Futhermore, we didn't have enough time to prepare carefully for this competition. Our players are still influenced by the bigger version of the game.
The other group match saw Iraq defeat Hong Kong 5-2 (first-half score 3-1). Nong Chin Hung put Hong Kong ahead in the fifth minute but Zaman Safi cancelled the lead in the ninth minute. Abdul Karim Radi, who scored a brace, made it 2-1 a minute later. The other Iraqi goalscorers were Walid Mohamed and Zaid Naji.
The only other goal for the losers was netted by So Yiu Man.
The Hong Kong coach said his boys missed a lot of chances. "My boys tried very hard but they missed too many chances," said Tsang Wai Chung. "They need to train more. In defence, they panicked and were under pressure."
Iraqi coach Emad Zubeir said the rival team's heavy movement proved to be their undoing. "Hong Kong played well but they were heavy-moving," said Zubeir.
Japan whip Guam as Indonesia edge past Malaysia in AFC Futsal Championship22 May 2005 HO CHI MINH CITY: Three-time finalists Japan showed no mercy to unfancied Guam in their opening Group E encounter and walked out 18-0 winners on Sunday in the Asian Futsal Championship.
Japan's domination was complete after Inato Kotaro had put them ahead in the very first minute and set in motion the demolition job. Kogure Kenichiro slammed in nine goals and was unstoppable.
The other Japanese players who piled on the misery for Guam were Takahashi Kensuke, who scored a hat-trick, Komiyama Yusuke, Suzumara Takuya and Fuji Kania (one goal each), and Kanayama Yuki, who grabbed a brace.
Guam simply wilted under the furious onslaught and failed to pull even one back as they were too busy trying to keep the ball out of their net.
Meanwhile, Indonesia avenged their humiliating loss in the ASEAN futsal tournament by edging past Malaysia 2-1 in the other group match yesterday. The Indonesians had not fielded a full-strength side in the ASEAN event and were drubbed 2-7.
Andri Irawan put the Indonesians ahead in the eighth minute but Malaysia's Addie Azwan Bin Zainal restored parity four minutes later. The winner was scored by Venard Victor in the 27th minute.
