High-flying Iran must stay grounded

AFC - Iran coach Hossein Shams refused to get too complacent despite seeing his side rattle in another 14 goals as they routed Tajikistan to finish top of Group D and book an AFC Futsal Championship quarter-final clash with Lebanon.

Vahid Shamsaee helped himself to five goals as the defending champions ran riot at the Nimibutr Stadium, going at the break 10-0 up before adding another four in the second period.

The rout brought their tally in the competition to 34 goals in just three matches against only one conceded.

But despite sailing through the group stages to reinforce their credentials as the team to beat, Shams is taking nothing for granted as he approaches the latter stages of the tournament.

"As far as our level is concerned, we think Iran are the best team in Asia and perhaps one of the better teams in the world but in Futsal, nobody can predict what will happen," he said.

"Sometimes you can see results and games that do not happen very often but they can happen.

"We are quite satisfied with the results we have had in our group matches and we are just thinking about the other steps we are going to have to take in the future.

"But if we compare the results with what the ones we have had in previous tournaments, our team has improved a little bit."

Shamsaee was the pick of the bunch in a dominant Iran display but Shams insisted Team Melli were more than a one-man show.

"We are not focusing our efforts on any one player to be the top scorer," he added.

"It happens some time in a game. Shamsaee is given a pass and then he scores a goal. We do not like to make one player the only to score our goals. It wouldn't be very good for the team. But anyhow, I think he got a few more chances in this game."

For Tajikistan, the drubbing extinguished the faint hopes they had of making the knockout stages and coach Damir Kamaletdinov believes they were beaten by a side that will go on to lift the trophy.

"We lost today to the winners of this tournament," he said.

"It's a reality of this team that we are beaten heavily but in any case, I'm not happy with the results in this tournament. However, it proved a good experience for my team."