INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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.The post Underdogs Afghanistan qualify for Futsal World Cup first appeared on Ariana News.
