Cambodia’s campaign at the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia qualifiers started on a losing note in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.
Pakistan handed Cambodia a 3-1 defeat in the Group B match. The other two matches in the group saw hosts Kyrgyz Republic crash to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Yemen while Laos thrashed Guam 8-0.
Only the seven group winners from the Qualifiers will progress and join the nine AFC representatives from the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 that have already qualified: DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
A balanced start to the match saw Pakistan’s Samar Razzaq and Reaksa Mout of Cambodia doing well in dealing with shots from distance.
The match burst into life in the 35th minute when a long diagonal ball to the left found Abdul Samad, who dribbled past Ly Yonphumea before squaring for Muhammad Abdullah to tap in.
Cambodia equalised four minutes later through Pimakrav Pov’s penalty after Shahid Anjum was judged to have fouled Hanafi El.
Pakistan increased their tempo in the second half with Hamza Yasir’s shot from an acute angle saved by Mout in the 51st minute.
The South Asians were denied again in the 65th minute when Khat Vatta produced an acrobatic goalline clearance to stop Abdullah’s looping header from going in.
Cambodia’s resilience was eventually broken six minutes later when Yasir’s cross from the right was nodded in by captain Samad at the back post.
Pakistan’s win was sealed in stoppage time, thanks to a wonderful Yasir volley from inside the semi-circle that flew into the top corner.
