The Thai futsal team had an emotional comeback against the Iraqi futsal team in the 2024 Asian quarter-finals, thereby winning a ticket to the 2024 World Cup.
Thailand is the host of the 2024 AFC Futsal Championship and they showed their strength when they won all 3 group stage matches to advance to the quarterfinals. Here, Thai futsal met their fateful opponent Iraq and they went through a difficult match as predicted by fans.
With the advantage of home field and superior strength, the Thai futsal team attacked from the start but were stuck in front of Iraq's tight defense and aggressive play. In the second minute of the match, Iraq took the lead thanks to a long-range shot by Al-Husaynat.
After conceding the goal, the Thai futsal team put suffocating pressure on Iraq's goal but could not find an equalizer. Things got worse for the home team when at 15:54, their goalkeeper made a mistake allowing Sulaiman to easily shoot into an empty net.
With no way back, the Thai futsal team played faster, but also more carefully. At 18:15, Worasak scored to equalize 1-2 for the blue team. However, the difficulties did not stop there.
Not only did they fall behind, the Thai futsal team also fell into a 4v5 situation twice when they were sent off. According to futsal rules, teams must play 4v5 for 2 minutes or until they concede a goal before a player receives a red card. Thailand excelled in both situations of playing with one less player without conceding another goal.
Therdsak celebrates scoring the winning goal.
However, Thailand had to wait until the 30:30 minute to equalize 2-2 thanks to Alongkorn. The drama happened in the final minutes of the match. Even though they were tied with a higher-rated opponent, the Iraqi futsal team suddenly used a power play. This reckless tactic cost them dearly.
At 38:57, Iraq lost the ball when their goalkeeper was far from the goal. Therdsak immediately shot from the home field, scoring the goal to seal an emotional 3-2 victory for Thailand.
With this victory, Thailand not only won a ticket to the semi-finals of the Asian tournament but also officially won a ticket to the 2024 Futsal World Cup. This is the 7th time in history they have done this.
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