IRANIANS OUTPLAY BAHRAIN

DUBAI - BAHRAIN were thrashed 0-6 by Iran last night to miss out on a spot in this year's Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup while making a shock exit from the Asia qualifying tournament played at Mamzar Beach in Dubai.

Last year's Asian champions looked out of sync for the second successive match. They conceded four goals alone to Iran's Fareed Boulokbashi, and couldn't capitalise on the many chances that came their way.

Iran, meanwhile, booked the final slot for November's World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. They will be joining Japan and newly-crowned Asian champions UAE. The hosts clinched the continental title yesterday after narrowly defeating the Japanese 4-3 in a thrilling final.

The Emiratis will be playing in the sport's premier competition for the first time, while Japan and Iran featured in last year's tournament.

"Everybody is feeling very bad about not qualifying," Bahrain head coach Gustavo Zloccowick told the GDN last night by telephone. "We were the Asian champions last year and were expected to be among the top teams again this time, but we could not make it happen.

"Everybody tried their best; from the players to our coaching staff and the manager. Maybe it just was not our time. I hope that we can learn from this and come back stronger next year."

Bahrain fought hard in their tournament-ending loss, which was their third successive defeat and second to the Iranians following a 2-3 result in the group stage.

Troubles

This is the first time that they failed to find the net in the qualifiers. Their troubles were highlighted by a missed penalty from Yaqoob Al Nusuf in the opening minutes of the first period. The slim Bahraini attempted a cheeky shot on goal that hit the right post, costing his team the early advantage which could have altered the face of the game.

Iran's goalkeeper Hamed Ghorbanpour, on the other hand, took one shot and scored. He made the Bahrainis pay just minutes after Al Nusuf's miss, scoring from far off to put the victors ahead and give them a 1-0 lead after the first period.

His goal sparked his team to a strong start in the second. Boulokbashi scored two of his goals in the period, while Bahrain, who were missing star player Rashid Jamal, struggled to find an answer.

Boulokbashi's strikes put his team in front 3-0 heading into the final period. He then completed his hat-trick early in the last period, prior to teammate Moslem Sigar's strike to make it 5-0. Boulokbashi then pegged the final score with his fourth in the match, beating Bahrain goalkeeper Hussam Al Manaei from close range.

Despite his team's most lopsided defeat in the tournament, Zloccowick was positive about his players' performance in the match. "I think they did a good job," he said. "They created many good chances to score, but just couldn't finish.

"I could see it in their eyes that they wanted to win very badly. They fought hard until the last second. They love Bahrain and they tried their best for their country."

Bahrain finished the Asia qualifiers with only one win in their four matches. Their only victory came against China on the opening day.

Their inability to score proved crucial in their campaign, as they finished with just six goals and conceded 15.

The team returns to Bahrain this evening.