TEHRAN – Iran national futsal team head coach Vahid Shamsaei must learn from disappointing defeat to Japan in the final match of the 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup.

Shamsaei replaced Mohammad Nazemosharia in January after Iran’s poor results in the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup. Team Melli lost to Kazakhstan 3-2 in the quarterfinals.

Under guidance of Nazemosharia, Iran finished in third place in the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup for the first time ever. Iran also won AFC Futsal Asian Cup two times (2016 and 2018) under leadership of the coach.

Shamsaei, former Iran futsal team forward, failed to defend title with the star-studded team and the football federation is reportedly going its cooperation with the 47-year-old coach until 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Without a doubt, Shamsaei must learn from the disappointing defeat to Japan in the final and he just needs a little more experience.

“If I continue with the team, I will definitely work on all our weaknesses. I don’t want to make any excuses, or say that it was a loss of opportunity. I’m ashamed that I couldn’t dedicate a win to our people,” Shamsaei told the-afc.com.

“I told my players that I am responsible for the defeat. They showed their best with maximum effort. They didn’t want to lose the trophy and were crying, but they have to accept the result. If they want to make a good future for themselves, they will need to understand the defeat,” he added.

Iran futsal team are among the top teams in the world and are capable of winning a medal in the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The Federation should take the matter more seriously.