Pakistan’s national football team suffered a resounding 6-1 defeat to Tajikistan in their second match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, played at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad today.
Tajikistan initiated the match similarly to how Saudi Arabia did four days earlier, quickly finding the back of the net in the early minutes.
Kamolov secured the opening goal for the visitors, aided by a minor deflection from Abdullah Iqbal. In less than five minutes, Tajikistan extended their lead with another long-range strike, this time by Soirov, leaving Pakistan’s Yousuf Butt helpless to prevent the ball from entering the net.
Responding to Tajikistan’s dominance, Pakistan staged a comeback in the 21st minute when Rahis Nabi delivered a sensational goal with his left foot. This remarkable goal injected much-needed hope for the home side and their supporters to turn the tide of the game.
The Green Shirts faced challenges in team structure and off-the-ball movement, particularly in the first half where their midfield presence was lacking. Exploiting the gaps left by the absent midfield, Tajikistan scored an outside-the-box goal in the 26th minute.
The home side continued to struggle, conceding another goal just before halftime, putting Tajikistan in a commanding position with a three-goal lead.
The woes for Pakistan persisted in the second half, with difficulties in ball retention and players struggling to control and slow down the tempo of the game. Every touch seemed directed towards the goal, preventing the team from establishing a proper structure.
In the 65th minute, the Men in Green conceded yet another goal from the edge of the box, highlighting their vulnerability in defending their penalty area.
Tajikistan scored once more just before the final whistle, securing a convincing 6-1 victory in a one-sided football match. The only positive note for Pakistan was Nabi’s impressive goal in the first half.
In a previous FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match, Pakistan witnessed a 4-0 defeat against Saudi Arabia.
What are you investing in football and why you are expecting some performance?. Other countries have professional clubs and leagues, professional coaches etc. Good countries are investing millions of dollars. What Pakistan had done in the last 5 years?. First invest for 4-5 years and then expect some form of result.
Tajikistan team members are playing for top leagues. Pakistani footballers are mostly part timers. Don’t expect a miracle from part timers. If Cricketers can be paid millions then pay footballers as well and then see the difference
PCB (Pakistan cricket board) has a budget of more than 1 billion. They have big stadiums in many cities. Every team player has a central contract and they have a state of the art training center. So my question is that PFF has how much budget, infrastructure and how much money is spent on every player? First urge the government to spend on football and then use words like “miserable defeat” etc.
“Miserable defeat” or “expected defeat”.