Sport
Tuesday’s Matches: Qatar, Iran and Wales exit World Cup
This year’s FIFA World Cup tournament has come to an end for Qatar, Iran and Wales after losing their group stage matches to Netherlands, US and England respectively on Tuesday.
Qatar was the first to be eliminated after losing their first two matches in Group A. The Qataris had already failed to advance to the knockout stage after an early 3-1 loss to Senegal.
For the hosts, their campaign at the World Cup ended with a loss against Netherlands on Tuesday. Despite making their World Cup debut, Qatar are now the first World Cup hosts to lose all three group matches.
The next match saw the US defeating Iran 1-0 in their last group stage match. Iran became the second Asian country to be eliminated following Qatar’s exit.
A first half goal from Christian Pulisic gave the Americans the lead. In the 38th minute, Pulisic collided with Iran’s goalkeeper in the process of scoring the sole goal of the match and had to leave the field for several minutes but was later able to return and finish out the first half. He was replaced at halftime.
The win earned United States a seat in the round of 16. They will now take on the Netherlands on Saturday in an elimination game.
Tuesday was the first time that the United States had faced Iran in over 20 years. In 1998, Iran beat the United States 2-1 which was their first-ever World Cup victory.
Alongside the Netherlands and the United States, England also secured their knockout stage spot after beating Wales 3-0.
It was the first time British teams had met at a World Cup and saw the two sides take a knee before their match as a gesture of solidarity in the fight against discrimination.
On the field on Tuesday, England was able to outplay Wales 3-0 after a double from Marcus Rashford and a third goal from Phil Foden.
For Senegal, Kalidou Koulibaly scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday, putting his team into the round of 16 despite the absence of the injured Sadio Mane, the team’s best player and one of the best strikers in the world.
Only a win against Ecuador would have taken Senegal through to the next round from Group A, and Koulibaly scored the goal that made it happen at Khalifa International Stadium.
Where to watch
Afghan fans need not miss out on any of the excitement of this year’s tournament which is being broadcast live and exclusively by Ariana Television in Afghanistan.
For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE
Competing in their first AFC Futsal Asian Cup, Afghanistan have concluded a fairy tale tournament by edging the Kyrgyz Republic to reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Four second-half goals guided Afghanistan to a 5-3 win and the final 24-strong field for Uzbekistan 2024 is now set.
Unknown at continental level at the start of the month, Afghanistan have scripted one of the great futsal fairy tales by reaching the global showpiece for the very first time.
After raising eyebrows by pushing powerhouse Iran in their opening match and then progressing from the group, the Afghans were involved in a triple Central Asian tangle that ultimately saw them reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Defeat at the hands of Tajikistan in the first of the quarter-finals looked to have marked the end for the daring debutantes only for World Cup hosts Uzbekistan to see off Vietnam in the last of the final eight match-ups to necessitate a play-off to determine the final slot at the sport’s showpiece event.
A 5-3 win against Iraq in the first round of the play-offs set up this winner-takes-all affair with a Kyrgyz Republic outfit also eyeing a maiden World Cup berth.
Settling the better of the two teams, it was a ninth-minute Omid Qanbari effort that sent Afghanistan to the break with a narrow lead; one that they would double nine minutes after the restart as an own goal from Mukhamed Askarbekov made it 2-0.
A frantic ten-minute period then produced six goals but with the Kyrgyz Republic always chasing the match, the Afghans never looked too troubled, with two late, long-range, goals from captain Mahdi Norowzi and Mehran Gholami capping off the impressive 5-3 win.
The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body.
Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherlands, the tournament has been held every four years since 1992.
The current champions are Portugal, who won their first world title after beating the 2016 defending champions Argentina in the final of the 2021 tournament in Lithuania.
Afghanistan qualified for the 2024 Futsal World Cup after 5-3 victory against Kyrgyzstan in the Playoff 3 of AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Bangkok on Sunday.
This is the first time that Afghanistan qualifies for the Futsal World Cup.
The tenth edition of Futsal World Cup is scheduled to start on September 14, 2024 in Uzbekistan.
Twenty-four teams will participate in the tournament.
Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan will make their debuts.
Mawj Sahil defeated Sarsabz Yashlar 2-1 in the 15th match of Afghanistan Champions League in Kabul on Saturday, while Sorkh Poshan hammered Maiwand 6-0 in the 16th match of the tournament on the same day.
Sanan Rahimi and Esmatullah Hadafmand scored the two goals for Mawj Sahil.
Yashlar’s only goal was scored by Mohammad Nasir Niazi.
Sorkh Poshan’s six goals against Maiwand were scored by Habibullah Hotak (1), Samir Mirzai (1), Hamir Amiri (1), Omid Rajabi (2) and captain Farhad Alizada (1).
Sunday’s matches will see Istiqlal Kabul take on Adalat Farah at 1:00 PM, and Khadim face Jawanan Wahedi at 3:30 PM.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Tahawol: Efforts to start immense regional projects discussed
Underdogs Afghanistan qualify for Futsal World Cup
Ghori State Cement in Baghlan increases production
Saar: US diplomat’s trip to Qatar, Pakistan on Afghanistan discussed
Regional countries should jointly expand stability and development: Deputy PM
Dead body of Quran-burner found in Norway
ATN secures rights to produce, broadcast second season of KPL
Yadav hits 156.7 km/h as Lucknow trump Bengaluru in IPL match
Afghanistan’s national futsal team ‘ready for’ group stage of Asian Cup
Indian foreign ministry advises against travel to Iran, Israel
Tahawol: Efforts to start immense regional projects discussed
Saar: US diplomat’s trip to Qatar, Pakistan on Afghanistan discussed
Tahawol: 32nd anniversary of Mujahidin’s Victory Day discussed
Saar: 32nd anniversary of Mujahidin’s Victory Day discussed
Saar: 46th anniversary of 7th Saur coup in Afghanistan discussed
-
World5 days agoNorth Korea officials visit Iran in a rare public trip
-
Sport4 days ago‘Serious talent’ Fraser-McGurk bonds with Warner to light up IPL
-
Latest News4 days agoOver 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
-
Sport2 days agoAfghanistan beat Iraq 5-3, inch closer to Futsal World Cup berth
-
Regional2 days agoNew UK sanctions target Iranian drone industry
-
Regional3 days agoTurkey accuses U.S. of double standards over Gaza in rights report
-
Latest News2 days agoEU allocates 17 million euros to support Afghans on the move
-
Latest News2 days agoPakistan extends registered Afghan refugees’ stay till June 30