Advertisement
Advertisement
The Pakistan football team continued their good run in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, pulling off a historic 2-1 victory over Kyrgyzstan on Saturday to register their second consecutive win in the tournament.
Coming into the game as underdogs against a side ranked 21 spots higher, the Green Shirts delivered a spirited performance to make yet another bold statement on the continental stage.
Maryam Mahmood was the star of the show once again, opening the scoring in the 4th minute before calmly slotting home a penalty in the 26th to double Pakistan’s lead.
Kyrgyzstan pulled one back in the second half, but Pakistan held their nerve to seal a famous win.
The result follows their commanding 2-0 win over Indonesia on Wednesday, which had already written a fresh chapter in Pakistan’s women’s football history.
In that must-win clash, Nadia Khan gave Pakistan a dream start by scoring inside eight minutes, while Suha Irani converted a penalty to give her side a two-goal cushion.
Goalkeeper Zeeyana Jivraj was outstanding, keeping Indonesia at bay despite multiple attempts on goal.
The win was Pakistan’s first since September 2023 and came against a team ranked 95th in the FIFA rankings, a whopping 62 places above them.
Earlier, Pakistan had opened their campaign on a bitter note with an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of Chinese Taipei.
READ: Shadab Khan undergoes successful shoulder surgery in UK
