Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Surviving a scare against China PR provides the perfect preparation for Islamic Republic of Iran ahead of their AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2018 semi-final meeting with Vietnam, according to head coach Shahrzad Mozafar.
Goals to Tian Jiao and Zhang Yue had Mozafar’s side facing a 2-1 first-half deficit, but the reigning champions levelled in the 16th minute before taking control of the game after half-time to advance to the final four with a 4-2 win.
After dominating the three-team Group D with 23 goals in two easy wins, it was Iran’s first real test at the tournament, and that’s exactly what they needed according to their tactical leader.
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Breakout Vietnam star Do Thi Nguyen is relishing her side’s dream run at the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2018, admitting the achievement of reaching the semi-finals has exceeded her pre-tournament expectations.
The Southeast Asians suffered three successive defeats to crash out in the group stage of the inaugural continental championship in Malaysia but, three years on, a sensational run of wins has taken them all the way to the final four.
Speaking the-AFC.com after her side’s absorbing 2-1 quarter-final win over Indonesia, the 24-year-old revealed her delight.
“This is more than I expected,” she said.
“I didn’t expect to get this far in the competition, but now that we have we’ll try to go even further.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Reigning champions Islamic Republic of Iran passed their first real test of the tournament to advance to the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2018 final four with a 4-2 win over China PR in a high-quality quarter-final on Wednesday.
Goals to Tian Jiao and Zhang Yue had the East Asians 2-1 ahead on the verge of half-time, but a Fereshteh Karimi-led Iran took the lead in the first minute of the second half and closed the game out with a late Sara Shirbeigi goal.
Shahrzad Mozafar’s charges will now meet Vietnam in tomorrow’s semi-finals, while China’s promising tournament ends at the quarter-final stage.
Iran had piled up 23 goals in their previous two matches, and in the opening moments they picked up from where they had left off in the group stage as Karimi and Shierbegi both went close.
Karimi gave the reigning champions an early lead when she fired home from a free-kick in the second minute, but China took just a minute to respond, as Tian Jiao met Zeng Qingqing’s inch perfect cross to fire home a wonderful header.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Vietnam will meet holders Islamic Republic of Iran in the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2018 semi-finals after they eliminated Indonesia with a 2-1 quarter-final win on Wednesday.
Nguyen Thi Hue scored the precious late goal which decided the contest and gave Vietnam their fourth consecutive win in a tournament where they failed to win a match three years ago.
It was a heartbreaking end for Indonesia, who trailed at half-time before equalising early in the second half through Febriana, as their maiden continental campaign finished with a narrow defeat.
In a battle of two undefeated sides, Indonesia looked to continue their dream AFC Women’s Futsal Championship debut by reaching the semi-finals at their first attempt, while Vietnam were hopeful of repeating last year’s 2-1 SEA Games win against their regional rivals.