By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Uzbekistan Futsal team started the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022 with a decisive win over Turkmenistan (8-0) in the first round of the second group competition on Tuesday. In group three, the current champions Iran will start their defense of the title against Indonesia, and will be followed by a match between Lebanon and China. Iran hold the record number of championships (12), and their only loss was in 2014 to Japan. The Iranian team are expected to lead the group.

Indonesia's team are among the tough teams. The Saudi team in the fourth group will have a tough match with Japan, which ended second in the previous championship, while Vietnam will face South Korea in the same group. Uzbekistan coach said the 8-0 win against Turkmenistan in the championship opener does not send a message to other teams.  "We are here to compete for the championship. We had a good offensive match and took advantage of the Turkmenistan defensive mistakes," he said.