Tag Archives: Portugal

Iran writes history at the 2016 Futsal World Cup

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For the first time in the history of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Iran won a bronze medal, as they claimed third place after a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Portugal following a 2-2 draw. The Iranians came from two goals down to take the third-place match to a dramatic penalty shootout, where six rounds of spot kicks were needed to decide the contest. This is the first time ever an Asian team reached the third place.

Iran achieved another first, when reigning and record futsal world champion Brazil was eliminiated in the round of 16, in a thriller that started with Brazil leading 3:1 against Iran and then losing on penalties after Iran fought back to a 4:4 draw. Brazilian futsal legend, Falcao, scored three goals, in what turned out to be his final game and as one, the entire Iran team went to Falcao to say their own farewells, throwing him into the air in celebration of a career that has left an indelible mark on futsal.

Last but not least, Iranian pivot Ahmad Esmaeilpour won the Bronze Ball. He is the first Asian player to be selected as one of the tournament’s top three players.

Iran futsal team celebrates after winning on penalty kicks against Portugal at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo IRNA)
Iran futsal team celebrates after winning on penalty kicks against Portugal at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo by Ian MacNicol – FIFA via Getty Images)
Players of Iran pose for a team photo before the bronze medal match – Iran vs. Portugal at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo by Alex Caparros – FIFA via Getty Images)
Iran futsal team celebrates after winning on penalty kicks against Portugal at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo IRNA)
Best players at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia – Golden Ball winner Fernando Wilhelm of Argentina (C), Silver Ball winner Eder Lima of Russia (L) and Bronze Ball winner Ahmad Esmaeilpour of Iran (R) – (Photo by Gabriel Aponte – FIFA via Getty)
Iran players pose with their bronze medals at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia – (Photo by Jan Kruger – FIFA via Getty)
Iran futsal team celebrates after winning on penalty kicks against Brazil at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo by Victor Decolongon – FIFA via Getty Images)
Iran’s team players throw in the air Brazilian player Falcao as they celebrate their victory over Brazil at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo by Guillermo Legaria – AFP)
Goalkeeper Alireza Samimi of Iran gets a hand on the ball for the save – Iran vs. Brazil at the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 in Colombia (Photo by Victor Decolongon – FIFA via Getty Images)
Team Iran celebrate on the court after their quarterfinal match against Paraguay at the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia (Photo by Victor Decolongon – FIFA via Getty Images)
Ali Hassan Zadeh of Iran (C) celebrates his goal with team mates during the semi-final match between Iran and Russia at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Colombia. (Photo by Jan Kruger – FIFA via Getty Images)

The 8th edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup was held in Colombia from September 10th to October 1st, 2016.

Iranian squad
Goalkeepers: Sepehr Mohammadi (1) and Alireza Samimi (2). Defenders: Mohammad Keshavarz (4), Hamid Ahmadi (5), Afshin Kazemi (9) and Farhad Tavakoli (13). Wings: Mohammadreza Sangsefidi (6), Ali Hassan Zadeh (7), Ghodrat Bahadori (8), Mohammad Taheri (10), Mehran Alighadr (11). Pivots: Ahmad Esmaeilpour (3), Hossein Tayebi (12) and Mahdi Javid (14). Coach: Seyed Nazemalsharieh.

Sources: Wikipedia | 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, FIFA | Futsal World Cup, IRNA

Football World Stars beat Iranian Stars in Tehran Charity Match to raise money for MS patients (Photos)

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The World Stars team included Michel Salgado (captain), Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Fabio Cannavaro, Guti, Fernando Hierro, Fernando Couto, Vitor Baia, Bodo Illgner, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Steve McManaman, Fernando Morientes, Marcel Desailly, Gaizka Mendieta, Edgar Davids, Jari Litmanen, Christian Karembeu, Boudewijn Zenden and Santiago Solari. Iran’s All-Star team featured 1998 and 2006 Iran World Cup players as well as Iranian celebrities.

The World Stars team takes the field once a month in a country to raise funds for people who are suffering from a disease or disaster. Support for Ebola patients in Africa was one of the latest fundraisers of this team. The match was held to raise money for MS patients.

The game
The constellation of world-renowned former soccer giants, including Vitor Baia, Luis Figo, Marcel Desailly, Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, known as Pauleta, as well as Fabio Cannavaro, edged the Iranian side 3-0 in a fixture staged at Azadi stadium in western Iran.

On the 24th minute, the world stars were awarded a free kick, which Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos, adroitly landed just inside the Iranians’ net. In the 31st minute, Figo cracked a terrific shot into the bottom corner of the net to put the world’s all-star team 2-0 ahead.

Shortly afterwards, Iran’s Alireza Mansourian, who is currently manager of Naft Tehran F.C. in Iran Pro League, delivered a pass to Farhad Majidi, who shot. The goalkeeper for world stars’ team, Vitor Baia, parried the shot outside the penalty area, and the referee, Afshariya, flashed the red card. However, he altered his decision due to the nature of the match and showed the Portuguese retired footballer the yellow card.​

Pauleta seized a golden opportunity one minute before the breather and scored the third goal for the world retired soccer giants. The match lost its momentum after the break, and both squads did not threaten each others’ posts.

Sources: Payvand News 1, Payvand News 2, Tasnim News Agency, IRNA, Borna News