Iran futsal team to play Myanmar in China tournament opener
Iran men’s national futsal team has been scheduled to face Myanmar in its opening match at a four-nation tournament in China, which is slated to start later this week.
The two Asian teams will meet on Friday evening in a warm-up match for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Championship that is to be held in Uzbekistan early next year.
Iran men’s national futsal team will play against Mexico on Saturday evening, before taking on the hosts the following day.
The names on the roster of Iran squad include Sepehr Mohammadi, Saeed Mo’meni, Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh, Mahdi Javid, Afshin Kazemi, Alireza Vafaei, Meysam Barmshouri, Majid Hajibandeh, Mohammad Shajari, Mohammad Safari and Mohammad Hossein Kouhestani. Iranian’s futsal outfit is under the tutelage of Mohammad Nazim al-Sharia as the head coach.
The four-nation tournament in China will open in the city of Changshu on December 18, and will wrap up on December 21.
The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship will be the 14th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship, and be staged in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, between February 10 and 21.
Iran has been drawn alongside China, Iraq and Jordan in Group B of the forthcoming sports event.
The hosts, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia form Group A, while Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam are put in Group C. Group D consists of Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Qatar.
The top two teams in each group (eight teams in total) will qualify for the knock-out stage.
The top five teams will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be the 8th edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, in Colombia.
Iran is the most successful team in the tournament with 10 titles. Spain won the futsal competition trice in 2006, 2012 and 2014.
Iran finished runner-up once in 2014, and stood on the bronze podium in 2006 and 2012.
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