AFC, Tashkent
Japan shattered Iran’s invincibility and took sweet revenge by ousting the seven-time consecutive champions 5-1 from the AFC Futsal Championship in the semifinals here at the Yunusabad Sports Complex on Friday.
Japan meet Uzbekistan, who defeated Kyrgyzstan 4-2, in the final on Sunday.
This was only the second defeat for Iran in the history of the AFC Futsal Championship since the inaugural edition in 1999 and only the first time Team Melli will not feature in the final. Of these seven finals pocketed by Iran, Japan had ended up playing bridesmaids in no less than four.
Perhaps in the end it was overconfidence verging on the arrogant which ended Iran’s hopes of a record eighth title. The speedy and accurate Japanese were too good for the ageing champions, who are in the throes of a transition. Moreover, it was clear Iran had failed to heed the warning signs from last year’s narrow 2-0 win in the final over Japan and their group stage 3-1 loss, their first ever in the history of the tournament, also at the hands of their archrivals.
The chances in today’s thriller were few and far in between and it was clear early on that the side which converted successfully would book its berth in the final. In this the Japanese proved to be a cut above their rivals. The start was nervy as both preferred to err on the side of caution and keep the ball without any hint of adventure.
The first clear shot on goal was taken by Kenichiro Kogure on 14 minutes forcing Iranian custodian Reza Nazri into a hurried save. However, the ball popped out of the goalkeeper’s hands allowing Kensuke Takahashi to unleash a snapshot. Japan preserved the one-goal cushion with some dogged defending into the break.
Four minutes into the second period, Vahid Shamsaee showed why he is one of the best in the business with a sizzling free kick which screamed into the net through the goalkeeper’s legs, restoring parity. The goal took Shamsaee’s table-topping tally to 16 goals though this could be upstaged in the final by Kogure, who has 13 goals to his name.
Disaster struck for Iran in the 28th minute when goalkeeper Nazri was sent off for handling the ball outside the area. Though the suspension was only for two minutes the psychological damage was immense as Kogure took advantage of stand-in custodian Nassery Aghchay’s nervousness to blast home a clean shot in the 30th minute.
Two minutes later Yoshifumi Maeda missed a double penalty but Daisuke Ono quickly undid the damage by pumping in the first of his three goals on 35 minutes. This goal of Ono was a masterclass as he latched on to a not-too-precise pass on the far side and let loose a scorcher on the run.
Three minutes before the end desperate Iran substituted their goalkeeper with a field player and went flat out to salvage the match and their reputation. In the 39th minute, Mohammed Hashemzadeh’s effort was pouched by goalkeeper Hisamitsu Kawahara and quickly relayed to Ono who poked it past Shamsaee in goal. The third goal was scored by Ono in the last minute after he blocked a Shamsaee shot near the Japanese goal and lobbed it into the unguarded opposite net.
”Our team morale slumped after our goalkeeper was redcarded,” said Iran coach Jurandir Dutra after the match. “The situation completely changed.”
”Whoever converts their chances wins in futsal. Japan were better at this today.”
”We have just now started rebuilding the team,” added the crestfallen coach. “But I take full responsibility for all the results of my team.”
Japan’s Brazilian coach Sapo said his backline played a big role in the victory. “We defended extremely well and hadn’t it been for our defence it would have been difficult to win.”
”We didn’t have a lot of chances because Iran played so well. Now we are mentally prepared for the final but we have to be careful to be not overconfident. Uzbekistan is a very good