MEDIA RELEASE
THAILAND DENIES IRAN FOR A PLACE IN THE SEMI-FINALS
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| Iran Vahid Shamsaee (No.9 in red) - Thailand L. Issarasuwipakorn (No.5 in yellow) |
“It was a fantastic game but I must say that we were a little worried when Keattiyot (Chalaemkhet) was sent-off,” said Thailand head coach Pattaya Piemkum after the match.
“But having said that, we have to realised that he has worked very hard in the earlier matches and that it is too bad that we will not have him tomorrow (when we play Argentina). Now, we only have nine players left and it will be a difficult match ahead.”
Following from their win over China in the morning, the Iranians started the game confidently this evening and pressed Thailand hard from the very first whistle.
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| Iran Vahid Shamsaee (No.9 in red) - Thailand Ekapong Suratsawang (No.10) - Keattiyot Chalaemkhet (No.14) |
All square at the break, Thailand slammed home the lead a minute after the restart off Ekapong Suratsawang to inject a sense of anxiety in the Iranian camp for the first time in the game.
In the 36th minute, Keattiyot was ejected from the match after picking up his second yellow card and the ensuing free kick allowed Mohammad Hashemzadeh to tap in the equaliser.
But with seconds remaining on the clock, captain Panuwat Janta converted a penalty to give Thailand their first ever win over the Asian champions and forced Iran to look at the lower plate semi-finals for salvation tomorrow.
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| Thailand L. Issarasuwipakorn (No.5 in yellow) - Iran Majid Latifi (No.2 in red) |
“I was disappointed with the outcome of the match tonight,” quipped Hossein Shams, the head coach of Iran.
In the plate semi-finals, Iran will play Indonesia while hosts Malaysia will take on Holland.
FIXTURES and RESULTS (1st Feb, 2008)
| 10am: Iran vs China | (6-1) |
| 3pm: Malaysia vs England | (6-2) |
| 5pm: Australia vs Argentina | (3-3) |
| 7pm: Brazil vs Holland | (2-0) |
| 9pm: Thailand vs Iran | (3-2) |
CURRENT STANDINGS
| Group A | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| ARGENTINA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 10 |
| AUSTRALIA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 10 |
| MALAYSIA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 6 |
| INDONESIA | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 3 |
| ENGLAND | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 0 |
| Group B | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| BRAZIL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| THAILAND | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 7 |
| IRAN | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 6 |
| HOLLAND | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| CHINA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 0 |
About the KL World 5's
The KL World 5's takes place between 29th January and 3rd February 2008 at Stadium Negara, Malaysia's first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. The event will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming - translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.
The KL World 5's will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.
ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia.
For more information, please visit www.klworld5s.com
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ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.
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