Iran Defeats Afghanistan in AFC Beach Soccer Championship
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran earned its second successive win in the 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship in Kuala Terengganu, defeating Afghanistan 6-1.
The Iranian national team (Team Melli) had defeated Malaysia 14-0 in its first match in Group A.
Iran talisman Farid Boulokbashi drew first blood on seven minutes but Raof Qaderi equalized shortly after.
Seyed Ali Nazem then made a soft nudge of the ball into goal during a melee to score Iran’s second before the game went into the second period.
Boulokbashi then registered his second in the match to take it to 3-1 for his side before Moslem Mesigar struck Iran's fourth a minute later.
Iran found its goal in the third period with hotshot Boulokbashi’s number three in the game, his seventh in the tournament, before Hassan Abdollahi converted his free-kick to help the 2013 champion leapfrog Afghanistan to the top of their group.
The top three finishers at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship will represent Asia at the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Nassau, Bahamas from April 27 to May 7.