Pakistan thrash Maldives 7-0 to end Saff on high

Nadia scores four, Rameen, Khadija, Anmol contribute one goal each in win

KARACHI:

Pakistan women’s team signed off in style as they defeated Maldives 7-0 at their last match in the 2022 South Asian Women’s Football Championship, which took place at Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal on Tuesday afternoon.

The team looked different from their last outing against Bangladesh where they were fraught with bad coordination and lack of plan.

On Tuesday, they played as a unit and proved their worth.

Rameen Fareed scored the first goal for Pakistan at the tournament and in the last eight years.

She put the ball in the net with a long shot in the 39th minute of the match.

Khadija Kazmi doubled the lead in the 48th minute on a penalty shot, while Nadia Khan scored first of her four goals in the 53rd minute, then went on to score another in 78th minute. She completed her hat-trick in the 84th minute and lastly, she brought the score to 6-0 for Pakistan with her fourth goal in the 90th minute.

Anmol Hira who has been very vibrant in the field scored the last goal of the match in the 94th minute, right in the dying moments of the match.

Pakistan were placed in Group A of the tournament with India, Bangladesh and Maldives.

They were expected to win against Maldives, but they lost to India 3-0 in their opening match, then 6-0 to Bangladesh in their second match.

Top two teams from two groups will compete in the semi-finals.

The other group had hosts Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan are out of the tournament as India and Bangladesh qualify for the last-four stage.