Iran men’s national futsal team has preserved its position as Asia’s best in the latest Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF) rankings, and climbs one spot in the world’s overall standings to sit in the fifth place.
According to the latest classification published by the AMF, which is the governing body of futsal, the Iranian squad earned 1,626 points.
Japan dropped to the 11th slot in the latest AMF rankings with 1,379 points. The East Asians are followed by Thais and Uzbeks, who have claimed the 15th and 20th places respectively with 1,361 and 1,251 points.
Brazil is the top-ranked futsal team in the world with 1,919 points. Spaniards notched up 1,910 points to sit in the second position, while third-placed Russians kept their position with 1,743 points. Italy collected 1,661 points to stand fourth.
On February 21, the national Iranian men’s futsal team was crowned the champion of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan.
The team, which had already registered a stellar record at the continental sports event, edged past the hosts Uzbekistan 2-1 at Uzbekistan Stadium in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent.
Dilshod Irsaliev netted the opener for the hosts in the fifth minute, only for Ghodrat Bahadori to neutralize the lead four minutes later.
Captain Mohammad Keshavarz then put Iran in the lead six minutes before halftime, prompting his teammates to successfully preserve the claim throughout the rest of the final showdown.