Pakistan secured a place in the semi-finals of the SAFF U-17 Football Championship after defeating the Maldives 2-5.
In the Group B match held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Pakistan led 1-4 by the end of the first half. Mansoor Ahmed scored the opening goal in the 12th minute and completed his hat-trick with goals in the 32nd and 45th minutes. Muhammad Abdullah netted Pakistan’s fourth goal in added time of the first half and struck again in the 59th minute to make it five.
For the Maldives, Ayan Ahmed scored in the 42nd minute, while Muhammad Shayan added another in the 70th minute.
Earlier, Pakistan had defeated Bhutan 0-4 in their opening match. They will face traditional rivals India in their third and final group match on Monday.
