The Iranian men’s national 7-a-side football team has vanquished Germany at the 2016 International Federation of CP Football (IFCPF) World Championships Qualification Tournament in Denmark.
The mentally challenged Iranian sportsmen started the campaign in an impressive fashion on Saturday. They breezed past their German counterparts 7-1 in a Group C encounter played at Vejen Idrætscenter in the southern city of Vejen.
The Persians got off to a decent start and Mahdi Jamali opened the scoring 8 minutes into the match. A minute later, Jasem Bakhshi took up a marvelous opportunity to put the ball into the back of the net and double Iran’s lead.
Bakhshi scored his second goal of the day in the 22nd minute, putting Iran 3-0 ahead.
Jamali further extended Iran's lead a minute later, and netted the fourth goal of the fixture.
The Germans got on the scoreboard in the 30th minute, thanks to an own goal by Lotfollah Jangjou.
Five minutes later, Sadegh Hassani Baghi sent the ball into the back of Germany’s net and struck the fifth goal for the Iranian squad in the 35th minute.
In the 36th minute, Jamali seized a perfect chance and nailed Iran’s sixth goal.
Jamali’s fourth goal in the match was the last straw that broke the back of the German team in the 38th minute.
Iran will play against Northern Ireland in its second match at the group stage of the tournament, which started in Vejen on July 29 and will wrap up on August 6.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is drawn in Group C alongside Germany and North Ireland. Australia, Scotland and Spain make up Group A.
Portugal, South Korea and Venezuela form Group B, while Canada, Denmark Finland and Japan are put in Group D.
The 7-a-side football is a form of association football for athletes with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders, namely stroke and traumatic brain injury. The matches consist of two 30-minute halves, with a 15-minute interval, and are played with modified FIFA rules.