Pakistan scored its first goals and earned its first point in a FIFA tournament after fighting back from two goals down.
Pakistan’s men’s football team made history on Tuesday night in Indonesia. Trailing 2-0 at halftime against the Philippines, the Green Shirts scored twice in the second half to draw 2-2 at the FIFA ASEAN Cup.
The two goals were the first ever scored by the men’s national team in a FIFA tournament. The draw also gave Pakistan its first point in the competition, which is the team’s first appearance in a FIFA event.
The match was played at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung. Pakistan came in after a 4-0 loss to Thailand in its Division I Group B opener on Saturday. The Philippines are ranked 136th in the world, while Pakistan sits at 198th.
Pakistan Falls Two Goals Behind in First Half
The Philippines controlled the early exchanges and kept sending crosses into the Pakistan box. Goalkeeper Yousuf Butt held firm for a while, denying Andre Leipold in a one-on-one.
Sandro Reyes broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Pakistan’s first real chance came soon after, when Ali Akbar Khan got in behind the defense, but goalkeeper Kevin Ray Mendoza dived to make the save.
The Philippines doubled the lead before the break. Mohammad Fazal was penalized for handball inside the area, and Bjorn Kristensen scored from the spot. Late in the half, Alamgir Ghazi tried his luck from distance on a counterattack but shot over the bar.
Ali Akbar Khan and Abdul Samad Arshad Lead Pakistan Fightback
Head coach Nolberto Solano made two changes at halftime, bringing on Ali Agha and Hayyan Khattak for Alamgir and Umar Nawaz. The response was almost immediate.
Two minutes after the restart, captain Abdullah Iqbal found Ali Akbar on the left. The forward beat his defender and slipped the ball through Mendoza’s legs to make it 2-1. It was his first goal for Pakistan and the country’s first in a FIFA tournament.
Pakistan kept pressing. Abdul Samad Arshad won the ball on the right, drove into the box, cut inside and finished past Mendoza to level the score. It was his second goal for the national team.
The Philippines still had chances on the break. Mohibullah blocked a shot from point-blank range to keep the score level. Solano also gave international debuts to left-back Abdul Rehman and Abdul Samad Khan as Pakistan pushed for a winner, with Pakistani fans cheering from the stands.
The winning goal never came, and Pakistan settled for the draw. The Pakistan Football Federation called it a night to remember, noting that the two goals were the first the men’s national team had scored in a FIFA tournament.
The result keeps Pakistan’s Group B campaign alive heading into its final group fixture against Vietnam.
