AFC, Tashkent
Seven-time Asian futsal champions Iran have been drawn in the group of death for the eighth edition of the AFC Futsal Championship 2006 alongside Thailand, Indonesia and Turkmenistan.
The draw took place at the Zarafshon Hall here on Sunday and 16 teams came out of the pots to be slotted into four groups of four each for the tournament proper which takes place from May 21-27.
The groupings assume vital significance this time as only the group toppers advance to the semifinals in the absence of a last eight round.
In the last edition, the credit of holding Iran to their first ever draw, a 3-3 affair, and ending their awesome seven-year-long no-draw streak (their long-running no-defeat run in the group stage was ended by Japan 3-1) went to ASEAN futsal champions Thailand. Hence, a guarded approach from Team Melli is to be expected when they come across the lively Thais who exposed their vulnerability last time round.
Group A has hosts Uzbekistan battling it out with China, Chinese Taipei and qualifiers Malaysia. Uzbekistan reached the semifinals last year and a repeat performance in front of home fans shouldn’t be too difficult.
Uzbekistan manager Valery Vidrih told www.the-afc.com after the draw: “We are very happy with the draw as strong teams like Thailand are in another group. If we manage to reach the knock-out stage we will meet neither Japan nor Iran in the semifinals.”
Last edition’s runners-up Japan are in Group B with Central Asian powerhouse Tajikistan, Iraq and Hong Kong. Japan lost to Iran in the final last year in Vietnam but a face-off in the final this year is ruled out as the format pits the Group B winner against the Group D topper in the second semifinal.
Group C is the most open of the four groups with newcomers Australia and Kyrgyzstan, beaten semifinalists last year, vying for the honours with Kuwait and Lebanon. Australia reached the finals recently the hard way after clearing a tough qualification phase.
The group phase will be played from May 21-24, while the last four matches will be held on May 26. The final will be played on May 27.