World cup qualifier: Pakistan, Bangladesh tied

LAHORE: The football world cup qualifier match between Pakistan and Bangladesh ended in a draw on Sunday. Resultantly, the Pakistani team is out of the world cup qualifiers, and will not play the 2014 Fifa World Cup. The team needed to win with a four goal margin to qualify for the next round, which it did not manage to do. Pakistan had lost the away-leg to Bangladesh 3-0 in Dhaka earlier this week. This second leg match of the qualifier was being held at the Punjab stadium in Lahore. The Pakistan coach said the team had lodged a complaint against the conditions in Dhaka where rain had affected the team’s preparations and the pitch as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2011.