Pakistan lost to Afghanistan

Male’, MALDIVES - Pakistan lost to Afghanistan 3-0 in the friendly match in Kabul yesterday, a result that upset the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).

The PFF expressed concerns about the work of national coach Zavisa Milosavjlevic with the team.

After conceding two goals in the first half, Afghan striker Mohammad Maroof sealed the victory with the third goal in the second.

The friendly match exposed the team’s deficiencies as they could only manage five attempts on goal compared to Afghanistan’s 14, with the hosts having more than 75 percent of the possession throughout the match.

Both teams played the match to prepare for the South Asian Football (Saff) Championship that will begin in Nepal on September 1.

Afghanistan hosted its first football international in 10 years on Tuesday, with its national team beating Pakistan 3-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 6,000 people in Kabul.

Labeled the "Friendship Match," Afghanistan took the lead at the newly built Afghanistan Football Federation stadium through striker Sanjar Ahmadi in the 20th minute. Forward Harash Atefi doubled the advantage 12 minutes later, and midfielder Marouf Mohammadi made it 3-0 in the 71st.

Security was heavy before and during the match, with heavily armed Afghan police and army soldiers creating a cordon around the stadium. A number of women attended the match in a separate section, a rare sight in conservative Afghanistan.

The international was the first between the two countries in Afghanistan in 36 years, and the first staged in the nation since the Afghans beat Turkmenistan 1-0 in 2003. Football has been making a comeback in Afghanistan, with the inaugural season of the Roshan Afghan Premier League being staged last year.

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, a vice-president of FIFA, congratulated the Afghan side.