Pakistan women's football team creates history by beating Tajikistan

The Pakistan women’s football team has made history by winning their first match against Tajikistan in the AFC Olympic Qualifiers on Tuesday.

 Zahmena Malik scored the winning goal for Pakistan, securing a 1-0 victory. Pakistan finished third in Group E of the first round of qualifiers for the Paris Olympics 2024.

OUR FIRST EVER GOAL IN AN OLYMPIC QUALIFIER CAMPAIGN! ⚽️

Brilliant work from Amina Hanif to release Zahmena Malik who slotted the ball home with relative ease 🧨#wearepakistanfootball #dilsayfootball #womensfootball #olympicqualifiers pic.twitter.com/36c0A5LgJH

— Pakistan Football Federation (@TheRealPFF) April 11, 2023

Full Time. HISTORY MADE! 🏆

We get our first ever win in an Olympic Qualifier campaign. Zahmena Malik with the only goal of the game in the 24th minute! ⚽️

Onwards and Upwards. Pakistan Zindabad 🇵🇰#wearepakistanfootball #dilsayfootball #womensfootball #olympicqualifiers pic.twitter.com/zRCSTbR73J

— Pakistan Football Federation (@TheRealPFF) April 11, 2023

Our Starting XI for 🇹🇯 vs 🇵🇰

Rameen Fareed comes in for Aliza Sabir in midfield. Maria Khan sits this one out as well due to injury ⚽️

Kickoff - 7:00 pm! #wearepakistanfootball #dilsayfootball #womensfootball #olympicqualifiers pic.twitter.com/3EDVe76TzM

— Pakistan Football Federation (@TheRealPFF) April 11, 2023

Pakistan had earlier lost their first match against the Philippines 4-0 before going down against Hong Kong 2-0 in their second encounter.

 The Philippines won all three matches and progressed as group winners to the next round. Pakistan was without the services of star striker Nadia Khan, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an ACL injury. Maria Khan had also missed the second and third matches of the group stage due to an injury.

The 22-member national team and coaching staff arrived in Tajikistan from Dubai on April 2. They had held a brief training camp and played matches against local clubs in Dubai before traveling to Tajikistan.

The first round of qualifying consists of 26 teams divided into seven groups. The winners of each group in this round will advance to the second round, where they will be joined by the five highest-seeded teams: DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, China PR, and Korea Republic. Four teams from the second round, three group winners, and the best-ranked runners-up will face off in the third round, playing two pairs of home and away matches with the two eventual winners qualifying for the Women’s Olympic football tournament in Paris in 2024.