Pakistan to participate in Maldives-hosted four-nation football tournament next month

KARACHI: The Pakistan men's football team has been confirmed as one of the participating sides in the upcoming four-nation tournament set to be played in Maldives from June 1 to 10.

The event, part of the Maldives Independence Day celebrations and thus titled "Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament", will feature four teams – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the host nation.

As per the recently unveiled schedule, the tournament will get underway on June 1 with Pakistan locking horns with Bangladesh at the National Football Stadium in Malé, while the home side and Afghanistan will square off in the subsequent fixture later that day.

On the second matchday, scheduled for June 4, Pakistan will take on the host nation in the evening fixture, while Bangladesh and Afghanistan are set to lock horns under lights.

The Green Shirts will play their last league-stage match against Afghanistan on June 7.

Notably, following the culmination of the league stage, the top two teams will compete in the final, scheduled to be played at the same venue on June 10.

Pakistan's participation would provide valuable international exposure for the team ahead of future regional competitions and offer an opportunity to test strategies and squad depth against comparable South Asian opponents.

The invitation for the aforementioned tournament had come just a week after Pakistan concluded their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign with a 1-2 victory against Myanmar behind closed doors at the Jinnah Sports Stadium in Islamabad.

For the unversed, the Green Shirts were already out of contention to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup as they were at the bottom of the Group E standings with just two points in five matches.

The Green Shirts suffered defeats against Saudi Arabia and Syria in each of the two legs, while settling for stalemates against Afghanistan in both their meetings.

In their previous face-off against Myanmar in the qualifiers, the national team suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat.