Iran will play Senegal in the semifinals of the 2021 Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup on Friday.
Iran lost to Russia 4-3 in Group B on Thursday in Dubai’s Kite Beach. Amirhossein Akbari, Mohammadali Mokhtari and Mohammad Moradi scored for Iran.
Russia will play Portugal in another semifinal match.
Iran defeated Paraguay 8-6 in their opening match on Tuesday. Mehdi Shirmohammadi, Mohammadali Mokhtari and Mohammad Moradi scored two goals each. Mostafa Kiani and Amirhossein Akbari also were on target.
Iran faced Japan for their second match at the 2021 Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup on Wednesday and defeated their east Asian opponent 6-1.
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The UAE city of Dubai hosts the annual tournament.
According to a report, The United Arab Emirates have been condemned to the playoff round of the 10th Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup despite beating group-leaders Senegal in Dubai.
The hosts beat Senegal 5-4 on penalties after overtime could not separate the two teams who were level at 3-3 on Kite Beach.
The result left the UAE narrowly third in Group 1 as they narrowly missed out on the semi-finals.
African champions Senegal earned six points from their victories over Portugal and Spain earlier in the tournament.
Portugal’s 7-4 win in the Iberian derby with Spain proved crucial to keeping their title hopes alive.
The Spaniards managed to finish bottom of the group with three defeats, even with the help of current top scorer Salvador Ardil Navarro’s six goals.
A rematch of the 2017 final awaits Portugal in the semi-final as they are set to face three-time champions Russia.
⚽ Day 3 Standings – #IntercontinentalCupDubai ?? #Dubai #Tecnotree #BeachSoccer #Iqoniq #LaLiga #Puma #GeniusSports #UNAOC #Nostra pic.twitter.com/1N8EPO8VIm
— BeachSoccerWorldwide (@BeachSoccer_WW) November 4, 2021
Russia won all three of their group games, although its opener against Japan went into overtime before Andrey Kotenev bagged the winner to make it 7-6.
A 4-3 win against Iran today secured pole position for Russia.
Both sides are looking to win their fourth Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup title to become the competition’s most successful team.
The duo sit alongside Brazil with the most trophies.
Iran – seeking its third consecutive trophy – will play Senegal in the semi-finals, who will provide a stern challenge.
Japan looked nothing like the team that took silver at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in August.
A tough loss to Russia clearly demoralised the players as they were then battered 6-1 by Iran before ending their tournament with a spirited performance against Paraguay, which resulted in a 6-4 loss.
Paraguay will face Spain and the UAE meet Japan tomorrow in the fifth to eighth place playoffs prior to the semi-final fixtures.
