Nassau: As sixteen of the world’s best beach soccer teams converge on the Bahamas for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the-AFC.com takes a look at Asia’s three representatives at the global showpiece.
Islamic Republic of Iran
Group B (Mexico, April 27; Italy, April 29; Nigeria, May 1)
Head coach Mohammad Mirshamsi’s side booked their seventh appearance in the global finals by capturing last month’s AFC Beach Soccer Championship in Malaysia, comfortably accounting for United Arab Emirates with a 7-2 win in the final.
IR Iran scored an impressive 50 goals at the Kuala Terengganu event, 12 of them coming from tournament MVP Mohammad Mokhtari, and they are now targeting a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup semi-final appearance after reaching the last eight in the two previous tournaments.
On both occasions, Iran’s competition came to an end in narrow defeats to teams which went on to reach the final. In 2013 they lost 6-5 to eventual champions Russia, while two years ago in Portugal they were eliminated 5-4 by a Tahiti side which fell only to the host nation. It is a measure of IR Iran’s progress that they defeated both sides at last November’s Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup.
IR Iran’s group in Nassau is manageable, but by no means easy; Italy are fourth in the world rankings, while Mexico and Nigeria both finished as runners-up in their respective continental championships.
They begin their campaign against a Mexican side that they beat 3-2 at the same stage of the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, before meeting the highly-rated Italians two days later.
United Arab Emirates
Group C (Paraguay, April 28; Panama, April 30; Portugal, May 2)
Returning to the global showpiece after failing to qualify in 2015, the United Arab Emirates have been dealt a group featuring the reigning world champions, the reigning CONCACAF champions, and a Paraguay side which has the lost the final in the last three South American Championships.
But despite having never progressed beyond the group stage, and the seemingly daunting task that lies ahead, the Emiratis can find solace in the form they showed at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Malaysia 2017.
At 2-0 down against the highly-fancied, and higher ranked Japan, Mohamed Bashir’s men rallied to register a surprise 5-4 win. That result set up a semi-final against Lebanon and, with World Cup qualification on the line, the Emiratis again came from behind to win, this time on penalties, and book a fifth appearance in the finals.
The Group Stage meeting with reigning World Champions Portugal will see the Emiratis do battle with one of the game’s all time great players, in the form of Beach Soccer icon Madjer.
The 40-year-old has over 1000 international goals to his name, with a staggering 118 of them coming in World Cups, including two against the UAE when the teams met in Dubai in 2009 where Portugal won 7-5.
Japan
Group D (Poland, April 28; Tahiti, April 30; Brazil, May 2)
While none of the Asian teams group stage draws could be considered easy, Japan’s is arguably the most difficult of them all.
Their first opponents are the Polish side who beat Switzerland to win the European World Cup qualifying tournament, followed by Tahiti, a World Cup finalist two years ago, before a potentially crucial match against Brazil; the most successful team in the history of the tournament.
Japan head coach Marcelo Mendes, a Brazilian himself, will be looking for an improvement from Japan’s third-place finish in the 2017 AFC Beach Soccer Championship, which was the first time in the eight editions of the tournament that they had failed to reach the final.
Takasuke Goto remains a key factor in Japan’s chances on the beaches of Nassau. The 31-year-old provided 11 goals in the AFC Beach Soccer Championship, including four in the 6-3 win against Lebanon, which ultimately secured qualification for the World Cup.
He also scored four goals in as many matches at the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, as Japan beat Argentina and Senegal to reach the quarter-finals, where they were narrowly eliminated by Italy.
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com