The Argentine Football Association’s Pakistan account has congratulated the national football team on its Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament title after the Green Shirts defeated Afghanistan 2-0 in the final on Wednesday.
“Congratulations from AFA to Pakistan Football Team on their tremendous win,” AFA Pakistan wrote while sharing a picture of Argentinian star Lionel Messi wearing a Pakistan football jersey.
The post comes months after the AFA in February officially launched an AFA Pakistan fan community as part of its global expansion strategy, making Pakistan one of its officially recognised markets.
The association greeted the country with a post reading, “Welcoming Pakistan into the AFA Football Community. The passion has always been here, now the connection is official and the journey begins.”
The AFA, founded in 1893, governs Argentine football and manages the reigning FIFA World Cup champions, with Messi at the centre.
On the pitch, Wednesday’s victory was a landmark for Pakistan football as it marked the Green Shirt’s first triumph in a senior men’s international final since the 1991 South Asian Games, where they also defeated the Maldives 2-0.
More significantly, it was Pakistan’s first standalone tournament title since 1952, when they shared the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament crown with India in a round-robin competition.
Pakistan controlled large portions of the final from the start and broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Forward Shayak Dost struck a brilliant bicycle kick after midfielder Otis Khan mishit the ball inside the box, setting it up perfectly for the striker to finish.
Afghanistan pushed hard for an equaliser in the remainder of the first half, but Pakistan held firm to go in 1-0 up at the break. The second half followed a similar script, with Afghanistan unable to find a way through a well-organised Pakistan defence. Goalkeeper Saqib Hanif led a watertight backline throughout.
Pakistan then put the result beyond doubt deep in stoppage time. Substitute Harun Hamid went one way and then the other to leave an Afghanistan defender on the floor before tucking in off the post to make it 2-0 and spark the celebrations.
