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 had the upper hand in their first senior international final since the 1991 South Asian Games, where they defeated Maldives 2-0.
Furthermore, the glory of the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament marked Pakistan’s first standalone title since it shared 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 match at the top as they dominated possession and were finally rewarded in the 24th minute when striker Dost scored a sensational goal via an overhead kick after midfielder Otis Khan miscued a kick just inside the penalty area, who lobbed it perfectly for the striker.
After Pakistan’s early attack, Afghanistan made desperate attempts to score an equalizer in the first half, but it ended 1-0 in favor of the Green Shirts.
The second half followed the same pattern of Afghanistan being denied an equalizer despite Pakistan making multiple substitutions and the scoreboard remaining intact at 1-0 in their favor until the end of regular time.
Pakistani team:
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.
