TEHRAN, April 18 (MNA) – Iran defeated debutants Afghanistan 3-1 at the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup on Thursday.

A brace from Saeid Ahmadabasi and a strike from Mahdi Karimi proved to be the difference as Iran eventually broke down hard-working opponents who restricted the Asian futsal powerhouses to just the one goal at half-time, before Mehran Ghorlami wrote his own little piece of history with his nation's maiden goal at the tournament, Tehran Times reported.

Iran will next face Bahrain on Saturday, while Afghanistan meet Kuwait in the day’s earlier game at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.

The competition will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from April 17 to 28.

MNA