Bangkok: Iraq secured a famous 7-3 victory over host nation Thailand on Saturday to seal top spot in Group A of the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship and make it five wins from five heading into the knockout phase.
In what would prove to be a decidedly tense affair, Iraq’s Ali Haqi opened the scoring in the first minute, only to see Panut Kittipanuwong level the scores less than sixty seconds later. The West Asian’s responded promptly through Abbas Ali, before Moamin Fawzi further extended their lead going into the break at the Bangkok Arena.
Hamzah Abbas’ early second-half goal for Iraq was countered with Sarawut Phalaphruek’s neat finish, only for Ali to notch his brace shortly after. Thailand gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Jirasin Kimseng scored on the half-hour mark. However, with four minutes left on the clock, Thailand head coach Miguel Rodrigo’s deployment of a power play backfired when Haqi scored twice to complete his hat-trick and fire Ali Talib’s side into pole position.
Thailand: KITTIPANUWONG 2’, PHALAPHRUEK 25’, KIMSENG 30’
Iraq: HAQI 1’, ALI 5’, FAWZI 14’, ABBAS 22’, ALI 28’, HAQI 37’, HAQI 39’
Photo: AFC
Source: the-afc.com