Bahamas: Iran has qualified for the semi-finals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup for the first time in their history, with a thrilling 4-3 win against Switzerland in extra time.
Iranian captain Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored the opening goal of the match with an overhead kick. He then put Iran two goals ahead with a superb volley direct from a throw-in.
Switzerland then responded and came all the way back from two goals down to take a 3-2 lead in the second period. The country’s all-time top scorer in the tournament Dejan Stankovic started their resurgence with a flicked finish. Glenn Hodel then scored a pair of goals to give the Swiss a one-goal lead.
With less than a minute on the clock, Ali Nazem scored a clutch goal for Iran to force the match into extra time. Iran then made history when Mohammed Mokhtari redirected Amir Akbari’s shot into the net to score the winning goal.
