ARDIYA (Kuwait): Etzaz Hussain scored his first international goal to help Pakistan hold Afghanistan to a 1-1 draw in their 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifier at the Ali Sabah al-Salem Stadium on Tuesday.

The draw means the two teams have remained deadlocked in their double-header in this international window after a goalless draw in Islamabad last week.

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have two points each from four matches in Group ‘E’ and are out of the race to qualify for the continental showpiece in Saudi Arabia after Syria locked top spot with a 3-0 win over Myanmar earlier in the day.

Afghanistan, hosting the game in neutral Kuwait, took an early lead when defender Mahboob Hanifi came from the back to fire past keeper Saqib Hanif in the fifth minute.

Pakistan, however, hit back just before the half-hour mark when Etzaz was found by a surging run to the byline by Otis Khan and the Norway-based midfielder took a touch and swiveled in the box to send a rasping shot past Ovays Azizi.

Both teams made five substitutions each in the second half but a winner proved elusive.

Pakistan complete their campaign with matches at home against Syria and Myanmar in November.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025