Playing under the name of Muslim Hands FC, Pakistan's U17 street child football team has grabbed a spot in the Norway Cup 2024 playoffs after their third consecutive victory as they defeated Oystese IL Oystese/Norheimsund 3-1 on Tuesday.
Despite conceding an early goal, the Pakistani team did not back off and continued to press their opponents in their box and eventually scored three goals to clinch the win.
The first half ended 1-1 and Pakistan continued their impressive and attacking display which helped them find the back of the net two more times before the final whistle.
Mohammad Adeel and Shahid Anjum scored goals from Pakistan's side in today's match.
With three wins in three matches, a strong start from Pakistan has set the tone for their upcoming matches as after finishing as the runner-ups in the last edition, they are eager to lift the title this time.
In their first two matches of the tournament, Pakistan defeated Astor Footballklubb 6-1 and then Vardeneset BK 5-0.
Pakistan will now face Charlottenlund SK 1 in their Playoff A match on Thursday, August 1st.
It is worth mentioning that in Norway Cup 2023, Pakistan lost the final on penalties 10-9 against Sola FK. They were undefeated throughout the tournament and defeated all the teams they faced by big margins.
Pakistan scored a total of 28 goals in Norway Cup 2023 and conceded only three and proved that they are capable of not just winning the matches, but winning them with a high score line.
It must be noted here that the Pakistan team finished runners-up in the Street Child World Cup in Doha, Qatar in 2022. They remained unbeaten throughout the tournament but lost the final against Egypt on penalties (4-3).
They were also the runners-up in the previous edition in Russia (2018), meanwhile, in Brazil (2014) they finished third.
Pakistan's squad for Norway Cup 2024
Goalkeepers: Aryan, Adeel Ali Khan.
Defenders: Asad Nasir, Ubaidullah, Mohammad Adeel, Hamza Gul.
Midfielders: Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Khan, Daniyal, Owais, Mohammad Osama
Forwards: Mohammad Kashif, Isa Khan, Shahid Anjum, Abdul Ghani