Spain escapes defeat against Iran

PTV - Asian champion Iran has held two-time world champion Spain to a 3-3 draw in its Group D opening game at the Futsal World Cup in Brazil.

The defending champion was dismayed after conceding three goals to the Iranian side only 12 minutes into the game in in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday night.

Iran's Mohammad Taheri scored the opener in the 4th minute, Vahid Shamsaee doubled the lead in the 12th and Ali Hassanzadeh netted the third only seconds later.

The Spaniards, however, managed to score three second-half goals to escape defeat in their World Cup opener.

Torras scored two goals in the 22nd and 36th minutes, while Borja netted in the 30th minute.

Iran is scheduled to face Libya in its second encounter on Sunday.

In other Wednesday matches, Argentina pulled off an easy 5-0 win over China, while Guatemala emerged victorious over Egypt 1-0. Libya earned a point in a 3-3 draw with Uruguay.

A total of 20 nations are drawn into four groups. The top two of each group will advance to the next stage, where the teams will compete in two groups of four. The top two of each group will compete in the semifinals.