Pakistan defeated Afghanistan 2-0 in the final of the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament at the National Football Stadium in Male on Wednesday to claim the title.
The victory meant Pakistan prevailed in their first senior men’s international final since the 1991 South Asian Games, where they defeated the Maldives 2-0.
Furthermore, the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament glory marked Pakistan’s first standalone title since sharing the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament crown with India in 1952, which was played in the round-robin format.
The Green Shirts made a spirited start to the summit clash as they dominated the possession and were eventually rewarded in the 24th minute when forward Dost netted a sensational goal through a bicycle kick after midfielder Otis Khan miscued a kick just inside the box, which lobbed perfectly for the forward.
Following Pakistan’s early strike, Afghanistan made desperate efforts to net the equaliser in the first half, which, however, ended at 1-0 in the Green Shirts’ favour.
The second half followed the same pattern as Afghanistan were denied the equaliser despite Pakistan making multiple substitutions and the scoreboard remained intact at 1-0 in their favour until the conclusion of the regulation time.
Pakistan squad:
Goalkeepers: Saqib Hanif, Yousuf Butt and Hassan Ali.
Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal, Mohammad Fazal, Abdullah Shah, Easah Suliman, Mohib Afridi, Mamoon Moosa, Ali Niazi and Haris Zeb.
Midfielders: Adil Nabi, Rahis Nabi, Alamgir Ghazi, Hayyan Khattak, Ali Agha and Otis Khan.
Forwards: Shayak Dost, Umer Nawaz, Ali Shah, Ali Khan, Samad Arshad and Harun Hamid.
