FIFA Futsal World Cup: Iran defeats Paraguay to reach semifinals
Iran have reached the semifinals of the 2016 Futsal World Cup for the 1st time since 1992, following a 4-3 victory over Paraguay in Colombia.
Iran were on the front foot in the early stages of the game on Saturday, but it was Paraguay who opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Francisco Martinez.
Iran pressed for an equalizer and found it 3 minutes later when Ahmad Esmaeilpour fired a powerful strike into the back of the net to make it 1-all.
The South Americans took the lead again just before halftime as Juan Salas himself bundled the ball in at the back post. But Iran pulled level once more, this time through Mahdi Javid.
The Iranians moved ahead for the first time in the game in the 36th minute as Javid scored his second goal of the night to make it 3-2, but Rene Villalba, sporting the keeper’s shirt, fired a low free-kick to take it to extra time.
And it was Esmaeilpour who hammered home from close range with 23 seconds to go to secure Iran a precious 4-3 victory.
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