Four-time winners Japan have Tajikistan, Korea Republic and Kyrgyz Republic for company in Group C while standing in Iran’s way in Group D are Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan.
\nGroup C
\nJapan
\nHow they qualified: Group H winners
\nPrevious Appearances: 16
\nBest Finish: Champions (2006, 2012, 2014, 2022)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: 1st
\nHead Coach: Kenichiro Kogure (JPN)
\nJapan enter the tournament as the defending champions, having stunningly defeated Iran 3-2 in the 2022 final in Kuwait.<\/p>\n
Having secured their place as Group H winners, Japan’s pedigree cannot be underestimated having also emerged runners-up on six occasions.<\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nJapan v Kyrgyz Republic – April 18
\nKorea Republic v Japan – April 20
\nJapan v Tajikistan – April 22
\nTajikistan
\nHow they qualified: Group E winners
\nPrevious Appearances: 11
\nBest Finish: Quarter-finals (2007, 2022)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: Quarter-finals
\nHead Coach: Pairav Vohidov (TJK)<\/p>\n
Tajikistan will be on a mission to better their quarter-final finishes of 2007 and 2022. <\/p>\n
The Central Asian side will feel they have a chance of progressing, given that only Japan look a class above them in the group. <\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nTajikistan v Korea Republic – April 18
\nKyrgyz Republic v Tajikistan – April 20
\nJapan v Tajikistan – April 22
\nKorea Republic
\nHow they qualified: Group D runners-up
\nPrevious Appearances: 14
\nBest Finish: Runners-up (1999)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: Group stage
\nHead Coach: Lee Chang-hwan (KOR)<\/p>\n
Korea Republic will enter the competition with the belief that 2024 will be their year to shine.<\/p>\n
After narrowly clinching their spot after finishing as the Group D runners-up, Korea Republic will be aiming to break their knockout stage drought stretching back to 2004.<\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nTajikistan v Korea Republic – April 18
\nKorea Republic v Tajikistan – April 20
\nKorea Republic v Kyrgyz Republic – April 22
\nKyrgyz Republic
\nHow they qualified: Group C runners-up
\nPrevious Appearances: 15
\nBest Finish: 3rd (2005)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: Did not qualify
\nHead Coach: Lluis Bernat<\/p>\n
Having missed the 2022 edition, Kyrgyz Republic will be determined to impress on their return to the continental stage. <\/p>\n
Head coach Lluis Bernat has been working hard on his charges and Kyrgyz Republic can be expected to provide a stiff challenge in Group C. <\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nJapan v Kyrgyz Republic – April 18
\nKyrgyz Republic v Tajikistan – April 20
\nKorea Republic v Kyrgyz Republic – April 22
\nGroup D
\nIR Iran
\nHow they qualified: Group C winners
\nPrevious Appearances: 16
\nBest Finish: Champions (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: Runners-up
\nHead Coach: Vahid Shamsaei (IRN)<\/p>\n
Iran will be determined to regain the crown they lost to Japan two years ago. <\/p>\n
Led by head coach Vahid Shamsaei, Iran finished second in the 2024 International Futsal Tournament in Vietnam and will be eager to hit the ground running in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nIR Iran v Afghanistan – April 18
\nBahrain v IR Iran – April 20
\nIR Iran v Kuwait – April 22
\nKuwait
\nHow they qualified: Group F winners
\nPrevious Appearances: 12
\nBest Finish: Fourth place (2003, 2014)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: Quarter-finals
\nHead Coach: Mohammad Nazemasharieh (IRN)<\/p>\n
Kuwait will be determined to do better after their 2022 campaign ended in the quarter-finals on home soil. <\/p>\n
Having secured fourth place finishes in 2003 and 2014, Kuwait will expect to do better this time around. <\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nKuwait v Bahrain – April 18
\nAfghanistan v Kuwait – April 20
\nIR Iran v Kuwait – April 22
\nBahrain
\nHow they qualified: Group F runners-up
\nPrevious Appearances: 3
\nBest Finish: Quarter-finals (2018)
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: Group stage
\nHead Coach: Rafael Fogageiro<\/p>\n
Head coach Rafael Fogageiro will be tasked with guiding Bahrain to a place in the knockout stage, having secured their spot in Thailand after finishing runners-up in Group F.<\/p>\n
While Iran look too strong, Bahrain will feel they have a chance against Kuwait and Afghanistan. <\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nKuwait v Bahrain – April 18
\nBahrain v IR Iran – April 20
\nBahrain v Afghanistan – April 22
\nAfghanistan
\nHow they qualified: Group B winners
\nPrevious Appearances: Nil
\nHead Coach: Mohammad Haidari (AFG)<\/p>\n
Debutants Afghanistan will be eager to make an impact in the competition.<\/p>\n
The Central Asian side impressed with a third place finish in the NSDF Futsal Championship 2024 and will aim to carry that form into the AFC Futsal Asian Cup. <\/p>\n
Fixtures
\nIR Iran v Afghanistan – April 18
\nAfghanistan v Kuwait – April 20
\nBahrain v Afghanistan – April 22<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Four-time winners Japan have Tajikistan, Korea Republic and Kyrgyz Republic for company in Group C while standing in Iran’s way in Group D are Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan. Group C Japan How they qualified: Group H winners Previous Appearances: 16 Best Finish: Champions (2006, 2012, 2014, 2022) \u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f2 Result: 1st Head Coach: Kenichiro Kogure (JPN) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":966658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20967],"tags":[3733,28042],"class_list":["post-966657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afc-news","tag-afc","tag-afc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=966657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/966658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=966657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=966657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=966657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}