Courtesy: The AFC.com


2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup: Road to Colombia

Sep 08 2016

Medellin: As the cream of the futsal world descend on Colombia for the eighth edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the-afc.com takes a look at Asia’s five representatives and how they qualified for the global showpiece.

Iran
Group F (Spain, Morocco, Azerbaijan)

Asia’s futsal powerhouse, and winners of eleven of the fourteen AFC Futsal Championships, Iran will arrive in Colombia with yet another continental title under their belt, after beating Uzbekistan in this year’s final.

The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship, which doubled as the qualifying tournament for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, saw the Iranians qualify easily, scoring 48 goals and conceding just four in their six matches.

Big group stage wins over Jordan (6-0), China (7-0) and Iraq (13-2) were followed by similar routs in the Knockout Stage as they beat Kyrgyzstan 7-0 to secure World Cup qualification before trouncing Vietnam 13-1 in the semi-final.

Iran were sternly tested by Uzbekistan in the final but prevailed with a 2-1 win, and thanks to players such as Ghodrat Bahadori and Farhad Tavakoli fresh from outstanding individual performances at the 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship, this may be the year Iran unlock their potential and reach the latter stages of the finals.


Uzbekistan
Group A (Colombia, Portugal, Panama)

The Uzbeks had the advantage of hosting the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship, but their performances were of sufficient quality that they would have qualified had the tournament been held anywhere in Asia.

Consecutive wins over Saudi Arabia (5-2), Kyrgyzstan (2-1) and Lebanon (2-0) put Uzbekistan within touching distance of their first World Cup, and they finished the job with a 3-0 win against Iraq in the quarter-final.

What no one expected was that Uzbekistan might actually win the tournament, but they came very close.

A superb penalty shootout win against a very strong Thailand in the semi-final was followed by the Uzbeks taking an early lead in the final, before Iran reeled them in and eventually secured the title.


Australia
Group D (Ukraine, Brazil, Mozambique)

Australia’s qualification for a seventh FIFA Futsal World Cup was done the hard way, having to go through two play-offs for the final Asian ticket to Colombia after being defeated in the quarter-final by Thailand.

It was in those cutthroat matches that Futsalroos excelled, beating Iraq 5-3 before securing qualification with a 3-1 over Kyrgyzstan.

Earlier in the tournament wins over Malaysia (2-1) and Qatar (5-2) were followed by a 3-1 loss to Japan, with goals to Greg Giovenali – who contributed six for the tournament – the common factor in all three matches.

Australia have been placed in a somewhat daunting Group D with five-time World Champions Brazil and world number eight Ukraine, although they will be expecting to beat Mozambique.


Thailand
Group B (Russia, Cuba, Egypt)

Having hosted the 2012 World Cup, and featuring some of the stars – rising and established – of Asian futsal, Thailand enjoyed a steady qualification campaign made easier by the constant goals of Suphawut Thueanklang.

The 27-year-old star racked up a tournament-best 14 goals at the AFC Futsal Championship, and scored in five of six matches, with Jetsada Chudech chipping in with five goals of his own.

Group Stage wins over Tajikistan (5-4), Chinese Taipei (7-2) and Vietnam (3-1) were followed by a 6-1 win over Australia which secured qualification, although Thailand will have been disappointed to lose to hosts Uzbekistan on penalties after a 2-2 semi-final draw.

Thailand will kick off their tournament against European powerhouse Russia, but with Suphawut and 2016 AFC Futsal Club Championship golden boot winner Jirawat Sornwichian in tow, the Southeast Asians have a real chance to cause an upset.


Vietnam
Group C (Paraguay, Italy, Guatemala)

The surprise package of the 2016 AFC Futsal Championship, Vietnam stunned three-time Japan in the quarter-finals to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.

Vietnam began with a hard-fought 5-4 win over Chinese Taipei, before flexing their muscles with an 8-1 destruction of Tajikistan. A 3-1 defeat at the hands of Thailand then set up a meeting with perennial contenders Japan.

It what was perhaps the most memorable match of the tournament - Vietnam scored late equalisers in normal time (3-3) and extra time (4-4) to force a penalty shootout, which they won, leading to wild and emotional celebrations among the Vietnamese delegation.

The job of qualifying was done, but Vietnam suffered a 13-1 hiding at the hands of Iran in the semi-final before taking another beating against Thailand in the third place play-off, suggesting the debutants will have to be on their game if they are to be competitive against some of the world’s best in Colombia.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com