Street Child World Cup: Aurangzeb strikes hat-trick for Pakistan

Team defeats Mauritius 3-0 to qualify for last-eight.

KARACHI: Aurangzeb Baba’s inspiring hat-trick helped Pakistan crush Mauritius 3-0 and storm into the quarter-finals of the 2014 Street Child World Cup in their third Group Three match in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Apart from the three goals, the team showed excellent form in goal-keeping as captain Sameer Ahmed stopped a penalty-kick to ensure the win for the country.

The team has now scored 18 goals in three matches without conceding any in the tournament so far.

They are scheduled to play their last group match against the US, who have also won their previous three matches. Pakistan and the US are the top teams in the group, which also featured defending champions India and Kenya.

“I feel good after scoring the hat-trick, but this tournament is more about showing courage and keeping integrity,” the 15-year-old Aurangzeb, told The Express Tribune. “Our coach Abdul Rashid grills us before every match that we need to be mentally strong; we can’t let the other team take over.

“He also tells us that we are playing for Pakistan and so we need to show the world that we are brave.”

Meanwhile, Aurangzeb also said that he also felt lucky to be part of the event and that teams from other countries respected him and his teammates.

‘It’s not just a game, it’s about learning to respect’

Azad Foundation Director Itfan Maqbool said that the children have proved their talent throughout the tournament, but more importantly, have become mature and sensitive to the world around them.“I’ve seen these children from the very beginning and then through the training,” said Maqbool. “Now they are different people. They are getting a lot of praise and respect, but they are also learning to give it back too.

“They even paid tribute to a Brazilian Street Child World Cup player Rodrigo Kelton who was tragically killed two months ago,” said Maqbool.

Meanwhile, another official Naveed Hasan Khan said that Pakistan was the only team who went to church on the very first day to pray for Kelton.

“Our team was the first one to pray for him; they lit candles for him there,” said Khan.

Aurangzeb, who aspires to play like Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo, said that Kelton’s story made him sad.

“It’s very sad to learn that someone died because of the criminal aspect of the streets,” said Aurangzeb. “All of us were very gloomy when we went to the church. We understand.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2014.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.