Bangladesh thrashed 12-0 by Iran on futsal debut

Bangladesh were handed a 12-0 drubbing by defending champions Iran in their opening match of their maiden campaign in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers -- which is also their first official match in futsal ever -- in Kuantan, Malaysia, on Saturday.

Bangladesh had started the contest well enough, offering stern resistance to the 13-time champions before a mistake from Srabon Shakil led to a goal in the 10th minute scored by Hossein Sabzi.

After the first goal, the floodgates opened as Hossein Tayebi then struck two goals in quick succession. Mohammadhossein Bazyar, Yousef, and Behrooz Azimihematabadi then scored one each as Iran went into the interval with a 6-0 lead.

Bangladesh's fate did not improve after the break as Bazyar (21st minute), Mohammadhossein Derakhshani (32nd), Saied Momeni (35th), Tayebi (37th), Mahdi Karimi (37th) and Gholami (38th) scored once each to make it 12-0 for Iran.

Bangladesh will next face Malaysia on Monday in their second Group G match before wrapping up the campaign against UAE two days later. 

The eight group winners and seven best second-placed teams will qualify for the final round, where they will be joined by hosts Indonesia in January-February 2026. 

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