AFC - Bangkok: Surviving a scare against China PR provides the perfect preparation for Islamic Republic of Iran ahead of their AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2018 semi-final meeting with Vietnam, according to head coach Shahrzad Mozafar.
Goals to Tian Jiao and Zhang Yue had Mozafar’s side facing a 2-1 first-half deficit, but the reigning champions levelled in the 16th minute before taking control of the game after half-time to advance to the final four with a 4-2 win.
After dominating the three-team Group D with 23 goals in two easy wins, it was Iran’s first real test at the tournament, and that’s exactly what they needed according to their tactical leader.
“I totally agree that having a more difficult match will help our preparation,” she said.
“At the beginning of the tournament I said I’d prefer to be in a group of four teams and not three, because when you have a tight competition schedule it helps you to fight and improve and adjust to the atmosphere of the competition.
“We expect another really hard game like we had against China (in the semi-finals). At this stage all of the teams are so strong and it’s not easy to win, but we are ready.”
Key player Sara Shirbeigi agreed with her coach, saying tough matches will ultimately benefit her team.
“Matches like this, where we are challenged, help us to find our weaknesses and find a way to cover them,” she explained.
“We try to learn from each game, and we learn a lot more from matches like this.”
Shirbeigi scored the crucial fourth goal, effectively sealing the win for Iran and marking her fifth goal in three matches in Bangkok.
That haul builds on the six goals she scored at last year’s Asian Indoor Games, but she insists that she doesn’t mind who scores – as long as her team keeps winning games.
“I was happy that my goal made the game safe, but it doesn’t give me any extra personal satisfaction that it was me who scored it,” she said, adding “I was just happy that I was able to help the team.”
Meanwhile, Vietnam mentor Truong Quoc Tran was thrilled with his side’s fighting quarter-final win over Indonesia and paid tribute to support his team have received from above.
“Women’s futsal in Vietnam faces a lot of difficulties, but the federation has paid a lot of attention and put investment into this team and our players,” he revealed.
“The players have played together for a long time now and this is the result.”
Truong is under no illusions as to the enormity of the task that awaits his charges, and the 38-year-old, who represented Vietnam at the 2010 AFC Futsal Championship, said he’d be spending his night working rather than celebrating.
“We know that the Iran team is one of the strongest teams in Asia and we know that we will face a lot of difficulties playing against this team,” he said.
"In the semi-final we’ll try something new against them. I’ll study them as much as possible and I’ll try to choose the right solution."