Football: Pakistan lose to Maldives in final

KARACHI: The Pakistan under-23 team lost to Maldives 2-1 in the final of the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Football Tournament in Sri Lanka yesterday.

After playing a goalless first half, Pakistan conceded the first goal in the 54th minute while Maldives’ striker Asdadullah doubled the lead four minutes later. Pakistan’s only goal came through Shahid Saeed in the 85th minute.

Pakistan began their campaign with a 1-0 win against Bangladesh, but they failed to maintain their form and lost their second match to Maldives 1-0. However, they qualified for the final after playing out a goalless draw against Sri Lanka.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2012.