Norway Cup: Tears shed in Oslo as Pakistan claim bronze

Street Children Team edged in semi-final after relentless display

KARACHI: Pakistan Street Children Team, comprising players from the 2014 Street Child World Cup, claimed bronze  after winning 1-0 in the third-place playoff against Søgne FK in the Norway Cup in Oslo.

Earlier, the team had crashed out of the semi-final by losing 4-2 on penalties to Senja FC as the match ended 1-1 in normal time.

The team, prepared by the Azad Foundation, impressed beyond measure as the players went on an eight-match winning streak — before being ousted in the semis — against some of the best U16 sides in the world’s second largest international youth football competition, featuring teams from 120 countries.

However, regardless of the emotionally draining experience of losing in a semi-final, skipper Razik Mushtaq was happy that everyone gave their all and was especially ecstatic that they managed to avenge last year’s quarter-final defeat against Lyn FC by defeating the Norwegian club 5-4 on penalties at the same stage they met last year.

“It was extremely difficult to see everyone cry. It feels very bad to disappoint the people in Pakistan but I am sure they know that we tried our best,” said Mushtaq, who scored the winner in the third-place playoff. “Our biggest moment came when we defeated Lyn in the quarter-final as they had defeated us last year at the same stage. I’m just happy with the fact that every player in the team, every single one, put their hearts out in the field while playing and that’s all that matters.”

The road to the semis

The youngsters started off the tournament by winning all of their matches in Group 42 — scoring 12 goals and conceding none.

They went on to extend their winning streak in the knockout rounds by defeating Tertnes FC 4-0, Tana BK 2-0, Rahover FC 1-1 (5-3), Lørenskog 1 2-0 and Lyn 0-0 (5-4) before being beaten by Senja FC in the semi-final.

Their extraordinary performance ignited the interest of over 3,000 Pakistanis in Norway, who came out to support the team.

Azad Foundation official Naveed Hasan Khan, who was travelling with the squad, said that other teams could not believe that the young players were not from any professional club.

“There were around 3,000 supporters for our team,” said Khan. “We even saw a lot of them crying when the team lost the semi-final.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2015.

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