Tabriz: Afghanistan and Indonesia have made history by reaching the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship semi-finals for the first time after producing some phenomenal performances, and both sides are determined to go one step further and make a bid for the title.
AFGHANISTAN
Goals scored: 11
Conceded: 6
Top scorer: Seyed Hossein Mousavi (4 goals)
Three first half goals laid the foundation for Afghanistan’s famous 3-2 win over Thailand, who finished third in the inaugural edition, and head coach Abdul Razaq Momrak is expecting another uphill battle against Indonesia.
“We know the Indonesian team is very good,” said Momrak.
“They have the same speed, just like Thailand. They played three great games here. We know this will be a hard match and we have seen clips of their games.
“We’re going to recover our players, and prepare accordingly. We’re not going to lose this chance to reach the final.”
QF - Thailand v Afghanistan
Afghanistan have shown that they are more than capable of matching the best teams in Asia, and they do so by maintaining high intensity and man-to-man marking, but this has also meant they have a tendency of racking up fouls.
The Central Asian team committed at least five fouls in the matches against host nation Islamic Republic of Iran and Thailand, a situation that could cost them and Momrak agreed his side has to be wary of this.
“When we start with high pressing from the beginning, there is a risk of commiting more fouls, but our players are disciplined enough to control themselves when we get four or five. We will work to fix this.”
INDONESIA
Goals scored: 15
Conceded: 9
Top scorer: Muhammad Sanjaya (4 goals)
">https://www.instagram.com/p/By2Crv6nImf/" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
View this post on Instagram
FULL TIME: Indonesia 7-5 Vietnam! 4 BESAR ASIA! INDONESIA melaju ke babak Semifinal AFC U-20 Futsal Championship 2019! #TimnasFutsal #AFCFutsalU20 #TimnasFutsalU20
Indonesia flexed their muscles in the second half and survived a late Vietnamese revival to progress to the semi-finals with a 7-5 win. Both teams came into the tie with a head-to-head record of two draws, and the hard-fought win in the quarter-final finally produced a winner.
Indonesia's results are due to the hard work and preparation done ahead of the tournament, dating over six months. Head coach Sayan Karmadi revealed that their goal was to reach the semi-finals, and with less pressure now, they can turn their eyes to the Continental trophy.
QF - Indonesia v Vietnam
“We’ve had six months preparation heading into this tournament, and our initial goal was to be among the top four teams in Asia,” said Karmadi.
“Now we have to earn the ‘bonus’ of being number one, even if the chance is slim. But we will try with all our might.
"Now that we’ve achieved our target, we can enjoy the rest of the matches and I hope our players will fight for first place.”
Afghanistan won’t be easy to overcome, but Karmadi is hopeful of their chances, having beaten teams with similar playing styles.
“I know that there are a few (Afghanistan) players who have impressive individual skills, like Ali Arab Zada and Farzad Mahmoodi.
“We faced Iran in a friendly tournament in Chinese Taipei, and we can say that Afghanistan have the same skills as Iranian players, so maybe we can anticipate certain things, as they have the same characteristics.”
Source: the-afc.com