ISLAMABAD: Sindh Indus secured a place in the semi-finals of the PFF National U-17 Championship 2026 after coming from behind to defeat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber 4-3 in a thrilling seven-goal encounter at Jinnah Stadium on Monday.

In the day’s other match, Balochistan Bolan and Islamabad Margalla played out a 1-1 draw.

Khyber dominated the opening stages and took the lead through Atif in the 23rd minute. Sindh, however, responded strongly as Moosa and Rafay struck to turn the game around.

Rafay scored again in the 79th minute to give Sindh a two-goal cushion, but Khyber refused to surrender. Atif scored his second four minutes later to reduce the deficit to 4-3 and set up a tense finish.

Sindh held on through the closing stages to complete the comeback and secure their semi-final berth.

The match was played at a high tempo, with Khyber’s intensity particularly evident in the first half. Sindh gradually found their rhythm after the interval, with their pace and technical quality causing increasing problems for the Khyber defence.

Both sides also benefited from goalkeeping errors during the contest. Sindh’s fourth goal came after the Khyber goalkeeper spilled the ball, while Atif’s second resulted from a misjudgement by the Sindh goalkeeper, who failed to deal with the flight of the ball.

In the second match, Islamabad Margalla took the lead through Shahzaib in the 24th minute before Sheraz equalised for Balochistan Bolan 10 minutes later.

Neither side could find a winner after the interval despite creating opportunities. Bolan were reduced to 10 men in the 67th minute when Faheem was sent off, but Islamabad were unable to take advantage of the numerical superiority.

The draw earned both sides a point, while Sindh’s victory confirmed their progress to the last four after an entertaining day’s football that produced eight goals.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2026