2014 AFC Futsal Champs: Vietnam 1-2 Iraq
(VOV) - Vietnam’s hope of winning their first opening game of the 2014 AFC Futsal Championship was jeopardized after the hosts were lost 1-2 to visitors Iraq on April 30.
With strong support from Vietnamese fans packing the Phu Tho Competition House, Vietnamese players looked confident, putting growing pressure on their Iraqi visitors.
However, they could not break up Iraq’s defence line, except for a threat at the beginning of the match, but the ball hit the horizontal bar.
Although chief coach Bruno Formoso made a tactical change in the second half, the hosts could not carve out real scoring chances.
Firas Abed surprisingly gave Iraq ahead in a lightning attack on 47 minutes, before captain Al Zubaidi’s own goal earned Vietnam an equalizer.
Vietnamese players continued dominating the game, but they did not pose any threat to Iraq and sometimes encountered their opponents’ counter-attacks.
They even suffered a losing game when Khalid Fahem scored a decisive goal for Iraq in the last minute.
Following their first defeat, Vietnam will face an uphill battle to qualify for the quarter-finals.
In another Group A match, Kuwait outplayed Tajikistan 5-0.