Match Day 5, Wednesday September 18, of the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan will see Afghanistan take on Argentina in their Group C match.

The match will kick off at 7.30pm at the Humo Arena, in Tashkent.

While both teams beat their opponents in their opening matches, history favors Argentina, which is ranked 5th in the world. However, supporters favor Afghanistan, which is ranked 30th. 

For the masses of Afghan fans who have made their way to Tashkent for the match, fireworks and goals are expected as the two teams tussle it out for a win. 

Speaking ahead of the match,  Afghan player Akbar Kazemi said: “I think it will be a very exciting spectacle for the supporters. There will be a lot of goals. 

“We like to play beautiful futsal and so do Argentina. We will give it our all because we want to finish top of our group.”

Other matches scheduled for Wednesday are Angola v Ukraine, Libya v Kazakhstan, and Spain v New Zealand.

Fans who are not able to experience the thrill of the match tonight in person can tune in to Ariana Television to watch the game. 

Ariana Television network is the official broadcaster of this World Cup and is broadcasting matches live each day. 

Afghanistan will face cricket powerhouse South Africa in the first of three one-day international (ODI) fixtures at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Wednesday.

Afghanistan and South Africa have met five times before – twice in ODIs and three times in T20Is – and on all of those occasions, during various World Cups, South Africa have come out on top.

However, Afghanistan, who only received full member International Cricket Council (ICC) status in 2017, has beaten every Test-playing nation in white-ball cricket except India and South Africa.

South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi said Monday that for this reason, the Afghans cannot be underestimated.

“The opinion of a cricket team is purely based on what people think, (but) it’s not always the truth,” Ngidi said.

“Anyone’s opinion on what Afghanistan might play like, that doesn’t affect us because we’ve seen what they can do against other international teams.

“We’re not taking this series lightly. They have world-class cricketers and match winners, and on their day they can beat the best in the world.

“We’ve seen it happen, so I don’t think anyone should be looking at them as minnows. We definitely know what we’re in for.”

For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan has returned from an injury that kept him out of a one-off Test against New Zealand, which was rained out without a ball being bowled.

Iran and Portugal registered historic victories in their FIFA Futsal World Cup openers on Monday in Uzbekistan, while France came from behind to win and Morocco beat Tajikistan.

Results for Monday September 16:

Portugal 10-1 Panama
IR Iran 7-1 Venezuela
Tajikistan 2-4 Morocco
Guatemala 3-6 France

Salar Aghapour and Pany Varela on Monday bagged breathtaking goals as Iran and France hurtled out of the blocks at Uzbekistan 2024.

There was mixed fortunes for two teams making their FIFA Futsal World Cup debuts, with Tajikistan dazzling in defeat to Morocco and France turning in a tremendous last 20 to overcome Guatemala.

Portugal 10-1 Panama

Portugal’s goals were scored by Jaime Penaloza, Afonso Jesus (2), Bruno Coelho, Tomas Paco, Erick Mendonça, Andre Coelho (2), Kutchy Camala Sa, Pany Varela.

Panama’s only goal was scored by Alfonso Maquensi.

Player of the Match was Erick Mendonça of Portugal who said after the match “we’re very pleased with the performance. Panama are a strong side, champions of their region. We spoke about making a good start, and that was crucial.”

Panama player Alfonso Maquensi said: “We can take a lot of encouragement from our second-half performance. Portugal are the best team in the world.

“We scored one, we could have scored more. Unfortunately we made too many mistakes in the first half, but what we did in the second gives us confidence for the matches ahead.”

This was the first time Portugal netted 10 goals in a FIFA Futsal World Cup game, and equalled their best-ever win in the competition: a 9-0 reverse of the same opponents in 2016.

Portugal are the defending champions at this year’s tournament.

Iran 7-1 Venezuela

Iran also put on a spectacular performance to defeat Venezuela 7-1 in their match on Monday.

Goals were scored twice by Salar Aghapour, Mahdi Karimi, and Behrooz Azimi while Amirhossein Davoudi scored one goal.

Venezuela’s single goal was scored by Milton Francia.

Player of the Match was Iran’s Salar Aghapour.

Speaking after the match at Bukhara Universal Sports Complex, in Bukhara, Azimi said: “The first few minutes were difficult for us, but then we adjusted and started to play better.

“The coach said it would be important for us to take advantage of Venezuela's first mistake, and that’s what we did. Then the game opened up for us.”

“We knew we were playing against a very strong team and that we would have to take advantage of any chance we had.

“They are futsal powerhouses, but I also leave the court thinking that we could have done more. There is a bit of a bitter taste, but now we have to move ahead,” he said.

With teams fired up to take home this year’s trophy, fans across Afghanistan need not miss out on all the action. Ariana Television Network is the official broadcaster in the country and is screening matches live daily.