The Iranian men’s national beach soccer team has maintained its place as the best squad in Asia in the newest edition of the Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) rankings, and claimed the fifth spot in the world.
According to the latest monthly rankings released by the BSWW, the organization responsible for the founding and growth of beach soccer, the Iranian squad collected 1,785 points to be crowned in the Asian continent.
Japan occupied the eighth slot in the global rankings and the second place in Asia with 1,269 points. The Japanese were followed by Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) teams, who landed in the 10th and 14th spots respectively with 1,037 and 881 points.
Portugal is the top-ranked beach soccer team in the world with 3,500 points. Russia accumulated 3,204 points to sit in the second position. Third-place Brazilians tallied 2,525 points. Italy stood fourth with 2,143 points.
On November 5, the Iranian outfit achieved a commendable second-place finish at the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2016.
Forwards Moslem Mesigar and Mohammad Ahmadzadeh tacked the two goals for the Islamic Republic of Iran during the title clash of the invitation-only tournament against South American powerhouse Brazil at the Dubai International Marine Club in the UAE. Team Melli lost the match 2-6 to the Reis da Praia.
Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2016, the sixth edition of the tournament, started in Dubai, the UAE, on November 1 and concluded on November 5.
The tournament was played as a round-robin in group stage, after which the top two teams qualified for the semi-final round.
The semi-finals were played between the winner of the Group A against the Group B runner-up and vice versa.
The Iranian outfit defeated Russia 3-1 in the penalty shootout on November 3 to finish top of Group B, and advance to the tournament’s semi-final round.
The Iranian side beat Tahiti 8-6 in the semi-final match the next day to book its place in the final showdown.