Islamabad
\nThey beat Bhutan on penalties Pakistan defeated Bhutan on Wednesday at the Dashrath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal, to qualify for the final of the SAFF U19 Championship.
\nThe match finished goalless after full time and the result was decided on penalty shootout.
\nPakistan triumphed 6-5 on penalties after goalkeeper Sahil Gul made a brilliant save during the shootout.
\nPakistan will face India or Nepal in the final on September 30 at the same venue.
\nEarlier, after a thrilling encounter against Maldives that ended in a 1-1 draw in Nepal, Pakistan secured their place in the event\u2019s semi-final on Saturday.
\nThe Men in Green started on a high note but they struggled considerably in front of goal. The Green Shirts failed to convert their chances in the first half of the game. Capitalising on the opponent\u2019s errors and mistakes, Maldives took a decisive lead in the 39th minute of the match courtesy of a brilliant outside-of-the-boot finish.
\nThe first half ended 1-0 with Maldives leading and it looked like the game will remain and then end this way. Pakistan\u2019s attacks were consistently repelled by the strong Maldives defense but the Green Shirts finally had their moment late in the game with Shah Jahan finding the back of the net and then celebrating by taking his shirt off.
\nIn their first match, Pakistan shattered a 12-year-long victory drought by bagging a win in an international fixture as they beat Nepal 1-0. Pakistan topped group B with four points in two games.
\nIndia are the defending champions, who won their second title in 2022 by defeating Bangladesh in the final.
\nPakistan squad
\nGoalkeepers: Sahil Gul, Mohsin Khan and Muhammad Abdullah
\nDefenders: Muhammad Sadam, Muhammad Adeel, Asad Nasir, Ans Amin, Khurshid Alam, Muhammad Raheel, Shayan Ali, Kamil Ahmad Khan, Abid Ali, Hannan Naveed and Najeeb Ullah
\nMidfielders: Ali Zafar, Muhammad Azan and Awais Khan
\nForwards: Shahjahan, Muhammad Hassan, Faisal Ahmad, Abdul Wahab, Muhammad Haroon Zafar and Muhammad Adeel Younas
\nTeam Officials: Shadab Ifthikhar (Head Coach), Mohsan Ul Hussnain (Assistant Coach), Khurram Shahzad (Goal Keeper Coach), Aamna (Media), Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad Samama (Physio) and Zohair Gondal (Team Manager).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad They beat Bhutan on penalties Pakistan defeated Bhutan on Wednesday at the Dashrath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal, to qualify for the final of the SAFF U19 Championship. The match finished goalless after full time and the result was decided on penalty shootout. Pakistan triumphed 6-5 on penalties after goalkeeper Sahil Gul made a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-358812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n