The team of Turkmenistan for the first time in history took place in the Iranian team at the first CAFA Futsal Cup-2023 tournament that started in Tajikistan. The meeting was held at the site of the multifunctional sports complex in Dushanbe - the Palace of Tennis and Water Sports and ended with a score of 2:1.

For many years, the 12-time Asian champion and bronze medalist of the 2016 World Cup in Colombia, Iran has been an insurmountable rival for Turkmen futsal players. The teams have met five times before this match. And in all the Iranians took over. At the same time, only in one match our compatriots were able to print the gates of the Iranian team, losing in 2009 at the group stage of the 3rd Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam - 3:8. In other meetings, the opponent did not miss a single goal, winning with a score of 14:0 at the 2006 Asian Championship in Tashkent, 13:0 in the semifinals of the 3rd Asian Indoor Games 2009, 4:0 on October 23, 2019 in the qualifying tournament of the 2022 Asian Championship in the Iranian city of Urmia and 3:0 in the qualification of the 2022 Asian Championship in Bishkek.

Compared to last year, the national futsal team of Turkmenistan has noticeably updated its squad due to young promising players. The coaching staff has also changed this year - the team was headed by the head coach of the current three-time champion of Turkmenistan "Denizchi" Yakub Ovezov.

At the CAFA Futsal Cup-2023 tournament, the sports honor of Turkmenistan is defended by 14 futsal players: 2 goalkeepers and 12 outfield players from three clubs of the country - Denizchi, Kopetdag and Senagatbank.

The debut match of the wards of Yakub Ovezov passed with a noticeable advantage of the titled opponent, who created many dangerous moments at the gates of the national team of Turkmenistan. And only the skill of our goalkeeper Pirguly Gylychmyradov, as well as bad luck in the final phase of attacks, did not allow the Iranians to open an account.

The first half did not bring success to either side - 0:0.

At the end of the 32nd minute, Gylychmyrat Gylychmyradov, with a biting free-kick, brought the national team of Turkmenistan forward - 1:0. After 35 seconds, Ali Akrami, aptly punching into the right "nine", won back the goal - 1:1.

The climax came shortly before the final whistle. At the beginning of the 39th minute, the Turkmen team played a penalty kick from their half of the site. Gylychmyrat Gylychmyradov gave a pass to the left flank of the attack to Mulkaman Annagulyev. He, without delay, shot to the far post, where Maksat Soltanov sent the ball into the unprotected corner of the goal with his head.

A few seconds later, the Iranians could even the score, but their player shot past the goal from 6 meters.

A minute and a half before the end of the meeting, the Iranian futsal players went for broke. Instead of a goalkeeper, they released a sixth field player onto the site. But our team played reliably in defense and did not allow the opponent to get away from defeat.

“This is a big tournament for me,” head coach of the Turkmenistan national team Yakub Ovezov said after the game. - We are building a new team of young promising players. From the previous composition of the team, 5 people remained. An experimental squad was brought to the CAFA Futsal Cup-2023 to test the newcomers before the upcoming 2024 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in October. Our goal is to win every game. I am glad that I managed to win against a strong opponent. This is a good start for our team and for the young guys.”

The goalkeeper of our team, Pirguly Gylychmyradov, who was recognized as the best player of the match, shared his emotions from the first game.

“We were very united today and it helped us achieve a positive result. I am very pleased with my game and the game of the team,” said Pirguly Gylychmyradov, the goalkeeper of the national team of Turkmenistan and the Senagatbank futsal club.

He also stressed that the national team of Turkmenistan will try to show good football in this tournament and how to prepare for the upcoming Asian Cup 2024 qualifying tournament in Bangkok from October 7 to 11, in which the Turkmen futsal players will play with the teams of Thailand, Hong Kong and China.

The teams of six countries of the region – Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are fighting for the CAFA Futsal Cup-2023 medals. Teams will play each other in one round. The winner of the tournament will be determined by the number of points scored.

In the next round, the national team of Turkmenistan will play with the hosts of the tournament - the Tajiks, who lost to the team of Uzbekistan in the first round - 2:4. In another match of the game day, the Afghan team won a strong-willed victory over the team of Kyrgyzstan - 5:4.

The CAFA Futsal Cup-2023 international tournament will end on July 30.