Dhaka, Bangladesh: Pakistan produced a commanding performance to register a 3-0 victory over Maldives, moving closer to securing a place in the semi-finals.
McKeal Abdullah opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Najeebullah Bettani struck twice to give Pakistan a comfortable three-goal advantage. All three goals came in the first half as Pakistan took firm control of the contest.
Najeebullah doubled Pakistan’s lead with a well-timed finish after Junaid Shah delivered a peach of a cross from the left. Najeebullah made a perfectly timed run into the box to get ahead of his marker and poke the ball home.
The forward then completed his brace with a superb individual effort. With Pakistan defending deep in their own half, the ball was cleared upfield, where Najeebullah brought it under control on the right before unleashing a powerful strike past the helpless Maldives goalkeeper.
Maldives enjoyed slightly more possession but struggled to translate it into meaningful attacking opportunities. Pakistan, meanwhile, were more threatening in front of goal, registering 15 shots, including five on target, compared to Maldives’ seven attempts, only one of which tested the goalkeeper.
Both sides pushed for more goals after the interval, but neither could find the breakthrough as the second half ended goalless, leaving Pakistan with a convincing 3-0 win.
Pakistan must now wait for the outcome of the remaining Group match between Maldives and India to confirm their place in the semi-finals.
Maldives will need to defeat India by a substantial margin to overtake Pakistan and secure qualification. Otherwise, Pakistan and India will progress to the last four.
