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The AFC.comAFC Futsal Championship: Uzbeks stumble as ominous Thais romp home13 May 2007 OSAKA: Those on hand at the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium tonight witnessed the greatest upset in AFC Futsal Championship history, with unheraldeded qualifiers Iraq downing two-time finalists Uzbekistan 3-1.
Iraq ’s stoic defensive display, coupled with segments of breathtaking individual flair, were the cornerstones of what was a landmark achievement for Iraqi futsal.
Each of Iraq’s goals arrived in the second half, and each were fit for any futsal highlights reel around the world – Hussein Ali, setting the tone with a blistering long range strike in the 23rd minute, before Hashim Kadhim added a deserved quick fire double with ten minutes to play.
With only seconds remaining, Abdulla Buriev netted a consolation for the Uzbeks from the penalty spot to cap a frantic final chapter of the match.
Uzbekistan’s urgency was best illustrated by the introduction of captain and attacking lynchpin Bahodir Ahmedov at the expense of goalkeeper Bekzod Khasmov, which saw the Uzbeks close out large sections of the match without a single player in their defensive half.
One of the unquestioned giants of Asian futsal, Uzbekistan simply had no answer to the rugged determination of the Iraqis.
In particular, the contribution of Iraqi goal keeper Utayl Abdulqader was immense.
“It was a good match, Uzbekistan are a very good team and our preparations for the tournament were not ideal, but we deserved the win today,” said elated Iraqi coach Saad after the match.
“This win today is so import to Iraqi futsal and Iraqi sport, the situation in Iraq at the moment made it very hard to get the team together to train. Hopefully this result will help people see what this team can achieve.”
Although a shock result in many respects, Iraq’s resolve in previous tournaments has been ominous.
While only winning on nine occasions from 22 attempts, Iraq had never been defeated by a margin greater than six goals, despite playing every Asian futsal powerhouse other than neighbours IR Iran.
In fact, Iraq’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Japan one year earlier was the eventual champion’s least comprehensive win of the Championships.
Iraq’s chances for their next match against the in-form Thailand were dealt a blow when Utayl was sent from the field for a second yellow card offence with less than a minute remaining.
In the earlier Group B match, Thailand took a massive leap towards qualification for the knockout stages with a richly deserved 8-0 triumph over Kuwait.
An Anucha Munjarern hat-trick, complemented by goals from Lertchai Issarasuwipakorn, Sermphan Khumthinkaew, Panuwat Janta, Prasert Innui and Ekapong Suratsawang secured the points for the Thais, whose championship credentials have been well and truly vindicated following what was an utterly dominant display.
So long the underachievers of Asia’s premier annual futsal meet, Thailand’s dynamic showing against a quality opponent will surely alert some of the more traditional heavyweights.
“We’re still adjusting to this new environment, to the pitch, to the ball, and we’ve also introduced a few new players to our team – today was not the best that you will see from Thailand ,” said Thailand coach Pattaya Piemkum
“We’re going to take each match as it comes, take the tournament step by step.”
Kuwait will need to defy their AFC Futsal Championship history in order to qualify for the final eight, requiring at least one point from their next outing against Uzbekistan – a feat that they have never achieved.
Thailand can assure their quarterfinal place with three points against Iraq tomorrow, who they have beaten on four occasions at an AFC Futsal Championship previously.
AFC Futsal Championship: Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan hold on for narrow wins13 May 2007AMAGASAKI: Kyrgyzstan scraped out a 4-3 win against Korea Republic while Turkmenistan defeated Australia 1-0 in a thrilling start to the pool C matches of the AFC Futsal Championship here on Sunday.
The Kyrgyzstan-Korea Republic match was wide open with plenty of goals. Korea Republic were lucky with their first goal when in the first minute Jung Hae-Hyuck flicked up the ball and as he turned to volley the ball a Kyrgyzstan defender unluckily deflected the ball into his own goal.
Kyrgyzstan regrouped well and controlled the match for some time. They managed to equalize in the third minute on a goal by Abdyraimov Daniar after a pass from the side. After that play was even and then in the 10th minute Krygyzstan got a goal by Nurjan Djetybaev on a one-two and great shot.
In the 17th minute, the Koreans equalized after a great pass to an unmarked Jeun Jun-young (13) who slotted it away comfortably.
Kyrgyzstan then took the lead just before halftime to make it 3-2. A great goal as Daniar beat a defender and placed a wonderful shot into the top right corner.
In the second half Kyrgyzstan's Marat Duvanaev scored a goal after a great dribble and shot from long distance in the second minute to make it 4-2. With this lead Kyrgyzstan sat back and relied on counterattacks for a while. Korea were doing most of the attacking now and scored a goal in the 14th minute (Lee Jong-yun) to cut the lead to 4-3.
In the 17th minute, things got interesting as Andrei Pestryakov (14) was redcarded thus giving Korea a man advantage for two minutes. The score ended 4-3 for Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan coach Nurtazin Djetybaev said: "The Korean team was strong physically. I didn’t have information about Korea but it was okay.”
The second game between Australia and Turkmenistan was much closer than the group opener. The Australians were limited to mostly shots from long range for most of the game.
Turkmenistan played relying on quick counterattacks. The Australians on the other hand attacked more and were unlucky to hit the post and crossbar on several occasions. The lone goal of the match was scored by 17-year-old Elman Tagayev.
The star of the team was however undoubtedly Agajan Resulov who controlled the the pace of the tempo as well as made some great through passes in the first half. If not for the finishing Turkmenistan could have won by a wider margin. Towards the end of the match the Australians replaced their keeper with an out player in an attempt to tie the match but it was not to be.
The Aussies accumulated many fouls and as they were over the limit of five, their keeper had to make a great save on a penalty kick.
Australian coach Scott Gilligan was disappointed and said: "We created many chances and couldn’t capitalize. They caught us on the break with just one chance.”
Turkmenistan coach Eldar Ramazanov credited the victory to great defensive play and goalkeeping. “We have a chance to get out of the group stage,” said Ramazanov.
AFC Futsal Championship: Japan storm to big win as Tajikistan keep Hong Kong at bay 13 May 2007OSAKA: Reigning champions Japan have begun their AFC Futsal Championship title defence in the best possible fashion, trouncing the Philippines 16-0 at the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium today.
In the other group game, Tajikistan came through 6-4 against Hong Kong and took a big step towards qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Kenichiro Kogure struck the first blow in the sixth minute for the Japanese, before adding two further goals later in the match to claim a hat-trick, with Takuya Suzumura netting four times in between braces from Yuki Kanayama and Goshi Koyama, with single strikes from Takeshi Kishimoto, Yusuke Komiyama, Wataru Kitahara, Rikarudo Higa and Daisuke Ono rounding out the scoring.
The 16-0 score line was Japan’s third largest winning margin in AFC Futsal Championship history, while the thrashing was also the Philippines’ heaviest ever defeat at the championship.
By full time, all but one of Japan’s ten nominated field players, captain Kente Fujii, had found the back of the net.
Such was the dominance of the home side, coach Sapo was able to make consistent wholesale changes throughout the match, with key players Fujii, Kawahara and Kogure all enjoying extended spells on the bench – an ominous sign of the depth at Sapo’s disposal.
“It was our first game, and it’s normal for players to be nervous, but we held it together well and played some fantastic futsal,” said Sapo after the match.
“All the players played well, we tried a few combinations of players and all worked quite well.”
AFC Futsal Player of the Year Kogure ignited the rout for the home side in the sixth minute, before adding another before the break.
Further goals to Kanayama, Kishimoto and Koyama, in addition to Suzumura’s brace saw the tournament favourites boast a 7-0 half time lead – five of which were scored in the final seven minutes.
While unquestionably the dominant side of the opening period, Japan were made to work for their goals by a hard-working Philippines line up.
Goalkeeper Romeo Francis Paranpan made several outstanding, if sometimes unwitting saves, with noble assistance on occasion from talismen Ali Bernard Go and Ariel Zerrudo, whose seven goals in qualifying earned the Phillipines their third ever championship berth.
Japan started the second half as they had ended the first – slamming a further four goals past their opponents within the opening ten minutes.
Despite Sapo’s regular changes – at times the entire four-man field player combination, Japan maintained their dominance right through to the final whistle, supplying the partisan local crowd of 1,552 on hand with plenty of cause for optimism ahead of Japan’s remaining group matches against Hong Kong and Tajikistan.
“Japan was playing world class futsal, we tried our best, but Japan were world class,” said Philippines coach Esmaeil Sedigh.
“We’re talking about Japan here, we tried an entirely different game plan to what we would normally because they are out of our class, in our upcoming group games we will adjust the way we play against nations that play at a standard similar to ours.”
Japan continue their quest for back-to-back AFC Futsal Championship titles at 7pm tomorrow against Hong Kong at Osaka’s Municipal Central Gymnasium, with the Philippines needing three points against Hong Kong at 5pm to keep alive their hopes of progression to the final eight.
The Tajikistan-Hong Kong match was a see-sawing encounter between two sides eager to entertain whilst staking their claim for a berth in the knockout stages, it was the central Asians who prevailed by an ultimately comfortable two-goal margin.
Rustan Khodjaev and Sherzod Jumaev netted twice for the victors, while Firdavs Faizullaev and Alisher Oulmassov added one a piece.
In response, Yue Hung Kwok scored twice for Hong Kong – Kwok Leung Chu and Sheung Kwai So adding the rest.
“It was a very interesting game, at the previous Championships, we were also in the same group as Hong Kong, they are a long time friend of ours and we believe that we’re at the same level, but I suppose we were lucky today,” said Tajikistan coach Kamaletdinov Damir.
“One of our goals is to qualify for the semi finals, Uzbekistan lost today, having seen that result unfold, we have confidence that we can push our way into the top four.”
Tajikistan were on the board after only two minutes, with Damir’s charges doubling their lead only seconds later before Hong Kong responded with three goals in the space of six minutes.
However, Jumaev netted his first of the evening in the eleventh minute to see both teams enter the tunnel with three goals to their name.
Just as Tajikistan had begun the first half, Hong Kong began the second – Yue Hung Kwok slotting home with barely thirty seconds up in the second stanza.
But also as Hong Kong did in the first half, Tajikistan recovered from their early setback to take the lead themselves.
“I think it was a very exciting game, we were leading 4-3 and then, unfortunately, some of players got nervous, we lost our shape and then lost the game,” said Hong Kong coach Wai Chung Tsang.
“This was a good learning experience for my players, for some of them, this is their first time competing at this level and they are not really familiar with futsal.”
The value of Tajikistan’s win is underlined by Japan’s 16-0 flogging of Group A minnows the Philippines earlier in the day, which suggests that the further three points Tajikistan require to secure their quarter final place is a mere formality.
Hong Kong now face the unenviable task of backing up against the tournament hosts tomorrow, whose opening day win has enhanced their pedigree as one of Asia’s flagship futsal nations.
AFC Futsal Championship: Hard slog for Iran13 May 2007AMAGASAKI: Iran were made to work hard by Lebanon in their Group D opener before the seven-time champions posted an 8-4 win for a nervy start to their AFC Futsal Championship campaign here on Sunday.
China beat Malaysia 2-0 in the other group game.
In the early stages of the Iran-Lebanon tussle, the Lebanese had the upper hand. However, Iran took the lead 1-0 at the fifth minute mark through Mohammad Taheri after a great assist from captain Mohammad Reza Heidariani.
Shortly after Lebanon equalized to make it 1-1 on a one-two play between Hayssam Atwi and Khaled Takaji, with Takaji finishing.
After that Iran had a series of shots and the Lebanese keeper, Rabie El Kakhi did well to stop many shots. On the 12th minute, Lebanon then took the lead after a great combination between Atwi and Takaji again. Iran then equalized after a good pass down the middle with a Mohammad Nasrabadi goal to make it 2-2.
About half a minute later Taheri scored a great goal from long range for 3-2 to Iran.
Next on 17 minutes Vahid Shamsee received the ball with his back to the goal, and turned to strike a powerful shot for a great goal making it 4-2 to Iran.
Lebanon got a goal just before half time on an individual play during which Chaaya showed some great dribbling skills. In the last minute of the half Lebanon got a goal back from Chaaya after an assist and great dribbling by Takaji. Iran trooped out for the breather 4-3 ahead.
The second half started tight. After three minutes Lebanon were unlucky to concede an own goal from a corner kick. Following that Iran created plenty of opportunities. Lebanon was starting to get tired after a great first half effort. On 11 minutes Iran scored a great goal which involved three players and was finished by Hashemzadeh for 6-3.
Iran were now in full control and added another one on 13 minutes from Taheri for 7-3. On 17 minutes Lebanon scored their 4th goal again after some amazing individual skill from Atwi. In the last minute Iran scored another goal to make it 8-4. It was a rebound from a corner kick by Latif.
In the end Iran were too strong for a spirited Lebanon side who side some great individual skill, particularly Atwi and Takaji.
After the match, Iran coach Hossein Shams said: “I am surprised by the strong showing.
When asked about using ageing players, Shams said: “In futsal age isn't such an important factor. What you saw today wasn't everything. We have different tactics for different teams."
In the early stages, the China-Malaysia match had a high tempo but it was a tight game.
In the fifth minute China created a great chance with a good cross, but the receiving player just missed the ball.
Later on a counter China was close again, but the shot was off target. In the 11th and 14th minutes China created more great chances but the Malaysian keeper, Ramli Zaidi made good saves.
China were more dominant but they were unable to make the penetrating final pass.
In the second half China turned it up a notch and attacked relentlessly. In the fifth minute they got the goal they were looking for through Li Xin. It was a good dribble and shot. Malaysia opened up a bit more and this led to may China counter-attacks.
In the 17th minute after some rough play by a Malaysian player there was a minor scuffle between several players.
In the 38th minute the Malaysia keeper came up to help the attack.
Unluckily, the ball was intercepted and the keeper fell, leaving Zhang Jiong to run down with the ball to score into an empty goal for a final score of 2-0.
Chinese coach Zhang Zhicheng said: “We didn’t push forward enough in the first half and in the second half I told them to move forward.”
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