Medellin: Islamic Republic of Iran put their FIFA Futsal World Cup campaign back on track with a 5-3 Group F victory over Morocco in Medellin on Thursday (local time).
The Asian champions, who suffered a surprisingly hefty 5-1 opening defeat against Spain on the opening matchday, belatedly found form.
After a slow start from both teams, Iran moved to a three-goal lead and they held a handy 4-2 margin at the break.
The match found its intensity and as the fouls mounted Morocco’s Mohamed Jaoud who, having scored the north Africans’ first goal, was sent for a stint on the sidelines and Iran added two goals in quick succession.
The second half was a more controlled affair and Morocco, fighting for their Futsal World Cup lives, pushed Iran hard in the second period.
Iran scores soon after the break and much of the remainder of the half saw Morocco in the ascendency leaving their opponents happy to counter-attack.
Morocco again drew within two goals of their rivals as captain Adil Habil netted his second of the night but it was to prove a bridge too far.
Iran will look to lock up passage to the Round of 16 on Sunday (local time) when they tackle enigmatic debutants Azerbaijan.
Iran scorers:
Hossein Tayebi (9'49")
Mahdi Javid (14'54")
Ali Hassan Zadeh (16'00", 23'40")
Farhad Tavakoli (17'03")
Source: FIFA.com, FIFA/Getty Images
Source: the-afc.com