LAHORE: Pakistan Under-16 began their AFC U-16 Championship qualification campaign with a 4-0 win against hapless Maldives in Kuwait City with a late-night kick off on Monday.The Pak U-16 team continued their fine form and started from where they left in SAFF U-16 Championship and put Maldives under immense pressure from the start of the AFC U-16 qualifiers of Group B at Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium.According to the press release issued here by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), Pakistan took the lead in the 13 minutes when Bilal scored off a well-placed pass from star striker Mansoor Khan. Bilal’s shot hit the post and went in as Pakistan went 1-0 up. Three-minute later, Mansoor netted the ball through a well-placed shot.
At half-time, Pakistan were 2-0 up and was determined to score more. In 63rd minute, a Mansoor Khan cross found the head of Bilal, who flicked it to winger Sher Ali who finished with aplomb as Pakistan went 3-0.Midfielder Raza Ali then made it 4-0 when his 20 yard shot flew past the goalkeeper three minutes later as Pak U-16 ended the game with a dominating performance over their fellow SAFF rivals. The win should give the Sajjad Mehmood and Hassan Baloch coached side great confidence in their tricky AFC qualification group also featuring the likes of UAE, Kuwait, Yemen, and Afghanistan. – Nation
