Male, June 7, 2026: Pakistan secured a historic place in the final of the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament with a commanding 2-0 victory over Afghanistan on Sunday, reaching their first senior men’s international final in 35 years.
Goals from emerging striker Umar Nawaz and substitute Harun Hamid sealed Pakistan’s second consecutive victory in the four-nation competition, ensuring a top-two finish in the round-robin stage and a place in Wednesday’s championship match.
The achievement marks Pakistan’s first appearance in a senior men’s international final since the 1991 South Asian Federation Games and their first final in a standalone international football tournament since the 1962 Merdeka Tournament, where they finished runners-up to Indonesia.
Having revived their campaign with a 3-0 win over hosts Maldives earlier in the week — a result that ended a 961-day wait for an international victory — Pakistan entered Sunday’s encounter needing only a draw to advance. Instead, they produced another confident performance to seal qualification in style.
Pakistan made an ideal start when Umar Nawaz opened the scoring in the fifth minute. The young forward connected with a low cross from Shayek Dost and calmly slotted the ball home to hand his side an early advantage.
The goal allowed Pakistan to dictate large portions of the first half, with the attacking trio of Umar Nawaz, Shayek Dost and Otis Khan causing constant problems for the Afghan defence.
Afghanistan, coached by former Pakistan head coach Jose Antonio Nogueira, struggled to create meaningful opportunities despite needing a positive result to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.
Pakistan continued to press forward and nearly doubled their lead when defender Easah Suliman was released by Otis Khan, but his long-range effort sailed over the crossbar.
Afghanistan’s best opportunity before the break came in stoppage time when captain Omid Popalzay rattled the woodwork with a free-kick, allowing Pakistan to carry a narrow 1-0 lead into halftime.
Afghanistan increased the pressure after the restart and pushed numbers forward in search of an equaliser. However, Pakistan’s disciplined defensive display and quick counterattacks continued to pose a threat.
On the hour mark, Shayek Dost produced a clever pass to send Ali Agha through on goal, but the midfielder dragged his shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Afghanistan also threatened through Omid Mosawi, whose header narrowly missed the target, but Pakistan’s defence remained organised and resilient throughout the second half.
The victory was finally secured in injury time when substitute Harun Hamid latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Adil Nabi and fired a powerful finish past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 and spark jubilant celebrations among the Pakistani contingent.
The win completes a remarkable turnaround for Pakistan, who rebounded strongly after a difficult start to the tournament and now find themselves one match away from a major international title.
It is Pakistan’s first appearance in a senior men’s international final since 1991, when they won the South Asian Federation Games football gold medal by defeating the Maldives 2-0.
The Green Shirts are also chasing their first standalone international tournament title since sharing the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament crown with India in 1952.
Under head coach Nolberto Solano, Pakistan have shown significant improvement during the tournament, combining defensive discipline with clinical finishing to secure back-to-back victories.
Pakistan will now face either Bangladesh U23 or Afghanistan in the final on June 10, with the national side aiming to crown a memorable campaign by lifting the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament trophy and ending decades of international football frustration.
