KATHMANDU: Kamil Ahmed Khan held his nerve in sudden death after goalkeeper Sahil Gul had denied Tshetrim Pelzang to send Pakistan into the SAFF U-19 Championship final after they overcame Bhutan 6-5 on penalties on Wednesday.

In the shootout after a goalless draw, both sides had converted their first five attempts from 12 yards at the Dasharath Stadium before Sahil dived to his right to block Pelzang’s first attempt of the sudden death and hand Pakistan advantage.

Kamil made sure his team-mate’s efforts didn’t go in vain when he buried his spot-kick into the bottom right corner and help Pakistan set up a final date with India on Saturday.

India also needed penalties to go through to the summit clash, beating Nepal 3-2 in the shootout after the teams were tied 1-1 at full-time.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2023