11/6/2007
fifa.com

Iran bade a fond farewell to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio de Janeiro 2007 when they defeated Spain 5-4 in their final Group B match.

Having already won the group, the Spanish began with a much-changed line-up but still made a strong start, Cristian Torres putting them ahead just a few minutes in. Iran turned the game on its head in a matter of minutes, though, when long-range shots from Moslem Mesigar, keeper Hamed Ghorbanpour and Ali Aligoli gave them a 3-1 lead.

Their pride wounded, La Furia Roja regained control at the start of the second period, pulling level with a Miguel Beiro cross-shot and a Javier Torres free kick. With nothing at stake, the action flowed from end to end before Mohammad Ahmadzadeh finished off a sweet team move to make it 4-3.

Ten minutes later Spain equalised again, this time through Javier Torres. Their relief lasted all of 30 seconds, however, Ghorbanpour emerging from his area to hammer home another long-distance free kick, his third goal of the tournament, and give his side a well-earned win.

ESP-IRN: post-match quotes

Marco Octavio, Iran coach
We had a good tournament and we showed we're heading in the right direction. I've got a very competitive team that played well against some top-class sides, and we came close to beating them all. If we can carry on the good work, I'm sure we'll get the right results in the future. This win is the best possible way to say goodbye to the competition.

Joaquin, Spain coach
We put some of the reserve players out because they needed time out on the pitch, and that in itself is important. I'm happy with the squad I've got here, but if we want to be champions we can only lose one game, and that was this one.

Moslem Mesigar, Iran player
We took on some big teams and put in some excellent performances, which shows that Iran has a lot of potential in this sport. I'm delighted with how we played today, as we managed to stay very motivated despite already being eliminated. Before we came to Rio we promised ourselves we would do our very best, and we're happy to have done just that. All the same, we are a little sad because it wasn't enough for us to go through.

Javier Torres, Spain player
I'm very excited about playing with my twin brother Cristian and that we both managed to score. I think we lacked a bit of energy in the last period but the idea was to get some minutes under our belts. If we can play like we did against Portugal, we should go far in this World Cup.