KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan woeful record in World Cup qualifying continued on a day FIFA’s lowest-ranked team won as the long and winding road to Russia 2018 kicked off.

Pakistan, who have never won a World Cup qualification match in their history, went down 3-1 in the first leg of their first-round qualifier for Asia’s 12 lowest-ranked teams to Yemen in Doha on Thursday and are left facing an uphill task in the return in Lahore on Tuesday.

The Shaheens, though, can take some inspiration from Bhutan, the world’s worst international team according to FIFA rankings, who picked up a 1-0 win against Sri Lanka in steamy Colombo on their World Cup qualifying debut.

Star striker Sunil Chhetri struck twice in the second half as India moved closer to the next round with a 2-0 win at home against Nepal while East Timor and Cambodia were also among the winners.

Chiquito do Carmo scored twice in the first half as East Timor beat Mongolia 4-1 in Dili, while Cambodia defeated Macau 3-0 in Phnom Penh.

Brunei also won for the first time in the qualifiers, beating higher-ranked Taiwan with a 36th-minute goal from Adi Said.

At the Grand Hammad Stadium in the Qatari capital where Yemen were the home side due to political unrest back home, the hosts made a fast start to storm into the lead in the third minute.

Pakistan goalkeeper Muzammil Hussain conceded a penalty and although he made amends by saving Ahmed Al-Haifi’s spot kick, Abdulwasea Al Matari headed in the rebound.

Pakistan did well to keep the Yemenis at bay in the rest of the first half but Mohammad Boqshan doubled the hosts’ advantage with a powerful header in the 57th.

Pakistan, however, pulled a goal back when captain Hassan Bashir levelled from the spot, scoring a vital away goal in the process, in the 67th but their joy was short-lived as Yemen restored their two-goal advantage through Ala Al Sasi’s stunning free-kick two minutes later.

Bhutan enjoyed a dream debut when Tshering Dorji scored the only goal in the 84th minute at Colombo’s Sugathadasa Stadium, stunning the vast majority of the 3,500-strong crowd who had been expecting the hosts to swat aside the visitors.

“It’s a very happy moment for my life. It was moment that I have been waiting for...it was a precious moment to score, and it was a perfect moment to score the goal,” Dorji told reporters.

Bhutan has been a member of FIFA only since 2000 and a lack of funding had prevented it from taking part in previous World Cup qualification tournaments and before Thursday had only three wins to their name.

The performance from the side, who were once thrashed 20-0 by Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2000, drew praise from even FIFA president Sepp Blatter who described it as “a wonderful, historic moment” on Twitter.

At the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati, Chhetri scored in the 53rd and 69th minutes though he failed to complete a hat-trick as he muffed a spot-kick in the 80th minute.

The second leg matches will be played Tuesday with the six aggregate winners advancing to the second round of qualifying, which doubles as the qualifiers for the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup, where the likes of regional powerhouses Japan, Australia and Iran enter the fold.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play