Pakistan beat Maldives 3-0 and moved closer to SAFF semi-finals — Dawn

Pakistan's national team defeated the Maldives 3-0 in the second Group B match of the SAFF Championship, held at the National Football Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The victory was Pakistan's first in the tournament and strengthened its position in the race for a semi-final place.

Three goals before the break

Pakistan opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute, when Makkil Arun Abdullah converted a penalty. Najibullah Bettani later doubled the lead by finishing Junaid Shah's cross from the left flank. Before the break, Bettani completed his brace: he received the ball on the right after a clearance from his own half and fired a powerful shot past the Maldives goalkeeper.

No goals were scored in the second half. The Maldives had slightly more possession but did not create enough dangerous chances. Pakistan had 15 shots, five of them on target. Their opponents had seven shots, with only one on target, Dawn reports.

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Fight to advance from the group

In their opening group-stage match on November 5, Pakistan lost 2-3 to India. The team was trailing 0-3 after the first half, while Bettani and Alamgir Ghazi scored in stoppage time, but they were unable to level the score.

The SAFF Championship is being held in Bangladesh from November 5 to 17. Group B features Pakistan, India and the Maldives, with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals. Pakistan now awaits the India-Maldives match scheduled for November 11. The Maldives need a big win over India to overtake Pakistan in the standings.