TEHRAN - Iran survived a fightback from Afghanistan to top Group D of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Indonesia 2026 with a 5-2 win on Sunday.

The defending champions - who finished with nine points - will face Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals while Afghanistan will play Japan.

Wary of each other’s strengths, the game got off to a cagey start with neither Iran goalkeeper Bagher Mohammadi nor his Afghanistan counterpart Javad Safari called upon to make early saves.

The first effort on target came in the eighth minute, Mohammadhossein Derakshani trying from distance but Safari got his hand to the ball to divert it away, the-afc.com reported.

Mohammadi had to be on his toes to catch a powerful shot from Mortaza Hussaini in the 11th minute before Behrooz Azimi produced a spectacular bicycle kick at the other end seconds later that sailed just over the bar.

With momentum on their side, Iran took the lead in the 13th minute after Safari parried Amirhossein Gholami’s shot into the path of the onrushing Azimi, who could not miss from close range.

Iran were denied a stunning second goal three minutes later when Moslem Oladghobad picked out the run of Hossein Tayebi with a delicate chip, with the latter turning in mid-air to flick the ball towards goal with his heel, only to see it bounce off the crossbar.

Afghanistan were lucky to avoid going further behind seconds into the restart after Safari’s poor pass went straight to Mahdi Karimi, who had a gaping goalmouth to aim at but steered his effort wide.

Mohammadi, meanwhile, produced an outstanding reflex save to palm away Reza Hosseinpoor’s free-kick, then dived to his left to push away Hussaini’s goal-bound strike.

In Afghanistan’s desperation to find the equalizer, they left gaps at the back which Iran exploited in the 29th minute, breaking away from a corner kick for their opponents with Gholami picking out Hossein Tayebi to knock the ball home.

Iran extended their advantage a minute later when Safari fouled Tayebi inside the semi-circle with the penalty awarded after Video Support review, with the latter slamming the spot-kick home.

Afghanistan, however, refused to concede defeat and pulled one back through Hosseinpoor in the 32nd minute.

Safari’s strike from distance a minute later - which took a deflection off Gholami - set up a tense finale as Afghanistan threw bodies forward in search of the equalizer, only to once again get caught on the counter with Masoud Yousef (36th) and Karimi (40th) settling the contest.