ST PIERRE (Mauritius): It took until the fifth game since the FIFA suspension was lifted for Pakistan to finally find the back of the net. It, however, wasn’t eno­ugh to give them their first victory since returning to the international fold.

Pakistan went down 3-1 to Djibouti in their third and final game of the Four Nations Series in Mauritius on Saturday; their opponents winning the round-robin tournaments by virtue of the victory.

Djibouti made a fast start, taking lead in the 11th minute through Dou­aleh Mahamoud Elabeh, who cut inside from the left and beat two defenders before his scuffed shot found a way through.

Pakistan immediately had a chance at the other end but Abdul Samad fai­l­ed to tap in at the far post.

Both teams enjoyed half-chances until Djibouti doubled their lead in the 74th. Goalkeeper Saqib Hanif came way out of his box for a long ball but Gabriel Dad­zie was first to it and chip­ped the ball into the net.

Pakistan’s moment came in the 85th when Umar Hayat was first to tap in a rebound after Djibouti goalkeeper had made a save.

But the joy of finally getting on the scoresheet since the FIFA ban was lifted in June last year was short lived as Djibouti scored their third immediately from the resulting kickoff.

Samuel Akinbini ran through the centre of the defence, unmarked, to send a looping header over Yousuf Butt, who’d repla­ced Saqib in goal, after a ball was floated in from the right.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023