Afghanistan’s national futsal team was knocked out of the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup in the quarterfinals following a close defeat by Tajikistan.
The match, which took place in Thailand on Wednesday, ended with a 2-1 victory for Tajikistan.
In the first half, a defensive error by an Afghan player allowed Tajikistan to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Farzad Mahmoudi corrected his teammates’ earlier mistake, tying the game at 1-1. Despite continuous efforts from both teams to gain the upper hand, the match went into overtime.
During the extra time, Tajikistani players were awarded a penalty kick, which they converted into the winning goal.
With this loss, Afghanistan was eliminated from the tournament, while Tajikistan advanced to the semifinals. This was Afghanistan’s first appearance in the championship, marking a valuable experience for the team.
Afghanistan’s advancement to the quarterfinals was warmly received by its citizens as a significant achievement.
