Pakistan beat Afghanistan 2-0 in the final of the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament at the National Football Stadium in Male on Wednesday to win the title.
The victory ensured Pakistan prevailed in their first senior men’s international final since the 1991 South Asian Games, where they beat Maldives 2-0.
Furthermore, the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament glory marked Pakistan’s first stand-alone 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 dominating possession and were eventually rewarded in the 24th minute when striker Dost scored a sensational goal with a bicycle kick after midfielder Otis Khan misexecuted a kick from just inside the box, which lobbed perfectly for the striker.
After Pakistan’s early attack, Afghanistan made desperate efforts to equalize in the first half, which however ended 1-0 in favor of the Green Shirts.
The second half followed the same pattern as Afghanistan were denied an equalizer despite Pakistan’s multiple substitutions and the scoreboard remained intact at 1-0 in their favor until the end of normal time.
Pakistan 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.
