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MY BEACH SOCCER 
Japan open their campaign with an emphatic victory over Kuwait while Iran and Bahrain also win
Groups C and D kicked off on day two of beach soccer in Pattaya, Thailand, as Bahrain defeat Qatar, a stubborn Iraq are sunk by Iran and a Yamauchi hat-trick helps Japan ease to their first three points.
Following the previous day’s AFC Beach Soccer Championships matches in Groups A and B, it was time for the rest of the sides competing for those three prized places in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay, to stake their claim…
Bahrain 5-2 Qatar (Group C)
Bahrain got their campaign underway in Thailand, with a comfortable win over Qatar thanks to braces from Abdulla Abdullatif Alabdulla and Abbsa Fadhel Zubayel.
The opening match of day two in the AFC Beach Soccer Championship began with Bahrain asserting an early two-goal lead over their Qatari opponents. In the second period, Srhan Moussa Alkhlif cut the deficit in half and at 2-1 Qatar were far from out of the tie.
However, the third period held three more goals for Bahrain, which were all netted in the space of just four minutes as A. Alabdulla and Abbsa each scored their second of the match.
Three early points for Bahrain put them momentarily on top of Group C, while Qatar will have to wait until Sunday’s game against Japan for their next chance at gaining some precious points.
Iraq 2-5 IR Iran (Group D)
The recently appointed Karim Moghaddam faced his biggest test yet, as the Intercontinental Champions, Iran, defeated his stubborn, young Iraq side.
The Iranian Moghaddam was looking to upset his countrymen with his newly acquired Iraq team, and they were the first to find the net after just three minutes of play, when Sajjad struck.
However, having opened the scoring, Iraq were then gradually worn down as Iran scored two before the first whistle, and then a third from goalkeeper Behzadpour, part way through the second period, to extend the lead.
The Iraqis struck again to bring the score back to 3-2. But the superior firepower of Marco Octavio’s Iranians was too much to contain, as they hit two more in the final period to seal the points in their opening game.
Japan 8-1 Kuwait (Group C)
The star-studded Japanese squad made the game impossible to contain for Kuwait in their opening match, scoring eight to cruise to their first win in of the AFC Beach Soccer Championship.
Despite the one-sded final score, the first ten minutes of the match remained goalless, and Kuwait may have been forgiven for believing that they could maybe take some points from this match. But, in the dying stages of the first period, Ozu and Oba suddenly pounced, opening the scoring with three goals in as many minutes.
Out of nowhere, Japan had a 3-0 lead going into the second break and the bewildered Kuwaitis struggled to recover from this intense attack. A.Alhamad managed to pull one back for Kuwait in the second period, but the Japanese upped the pressure and managed to rack up a total of eight goals.
Ruy Ramos’ men take away the three points and set themselves in good stead for qualification for another World Cup.
Stay up-to-date on the results and fixtures of the AFC Beach Soccer Championship on the BSWW website.
RESULTS:
Thursday 7th March:
Lebanon 5-3 China (Group B)
Afghanistan 3-2 Malaysia *AET (Group A)
UAE 6-1 Kyrgyz Republic (Group B)
Thailand 2-5 Palestine (Group A)
Friday 8th March:
Bahrain 5-2 Qatar (Group C)
Iraq 2-5 IR Iran (Group D)
Japan 8-1 Kuwait (Group C)
FIXTURES
Saturday 9th March:
Kyrgyz Republic v Lebanon (Group B)
Palestine v Afghanistan (Group A)
Chine PR v UAE (Group B)
Malaysia v Thailand (Group A)
Sunday 10th March:
Kuwait v Bahrain (Group C)
Oman v Iraq (Group D)
Qatar v Japan (Group C)
Monday 11th March:
UAE v Lebanon (Group B)
China PR v Kyrgyz Republic (Group B)
Malaysia v Palestine (Group A)
Thailand v Afghanistan (Group A)
Tuesday 12th March:
Japan v Bahrain (Group C)
Iran v Oman (Group D)
Qatar v Kuwait (Group C)
