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Iran Finishes Second in Artists’ Futsal World Cup

Iran Finishes Second in Artists’ Futsal World Cup
Iran Finishes Second in Artists’ Futsal World Cup

Iran artists’ futsal team finished second at the first Artists’ Futsal World Cup on Friday (Feb. 27), losing to Romania in the final match.

Following their good performance in the previous four games, Iran had an acceptable show against their strong European rival, troubling the Romania players throughout the game and creating several scoring chances; however, they could not make use of their opportunities and lost the game 4-1 to let Romania be crowned the champions.

Mohammad Navazi scored a beautiful goal in the second half to bring the game to a 1-1 draw but then it was Romania’s chance and with a bit of luck the latter shot the ball three more times in Iran’s net, winning the first edition of the games.

With a 2-0 victory over Japan, Iran had a head start in the group games. In their second match however they lost the hard-fought game to Turkey 4-3. To make up for the loss and keeping hopes high for qualifying to the semi-finals, Iran crushed Poland 9-0.

In a breathtaking match with Brazil in the next round, Iran managed to tie in the 40-minute duration of the game with their tough opponent, taking the game to additional time. Playing for 10 more minutes, no team could take the lead and finally the penalty shots determined the winner. Iranian players defeated Brazil 7-6 and made their way to the final game. They could have celebrated the first title of the cup games at home, but they failed to do so and suffice to say took the second place.

The games were held at Azadi indoor stadium in Tehran, the surface of which was covered with artificial turf specifically for the competition.

In total, eight teams participated in the competition where Brazil, Azerbaijan, Sweden, and Romania played in group A, and Iran in group B with Japan, Turkey, and Poland.

Other than the artists of the participating country, four members of the national football teams over age 35 were also allowed to play for each team.

Financialtribune.com