Pakistan, after putting up a valiant show throughout the tournament, finished as runner-up in the Street Child Football World Cup 2022, after losing to Egypt in the final.
The final between Pakistan and Egypt played in Doha, Qatar, was a gripping clash as both sides could not score a single goal, despite numerous attacks at each other’s posts. The match was then decided on penalty shoot-outs, with Egyptian boys defeating the green shirts 4-3.
The Pakistani U-16 team reached the world cup final unbeaten, winning all seven matches it played before the final. Pakistan’s semifinal against Brazil was also a nail-biting affair, also decided on a penalty shoot-out (3-1).
This is the highest position achieved by Pakistan’s Street football team in the event after 2014 when they stood had grabbed a bronze medal.
Pakistan’s forward player Tufail Shinwari outshined other talented players of the team who also displayed stunning performances. The 16-year-old Shinwari amazed the audience with back-to-back hat-tricks against Qatar and Bosnia as he scored 13 goals in the tournament.
Shinwari, while talking to a news agency over the phone, said he was “proud” to be the player of the tournament.
“We are sad that we could not get the title but at the same time we are coming back [to Pakistan] with an objective [to play football] in our life,” he maintained.
The 11-day event was organized by Street Child United, a UK-based non-profit organization, and 28 teams from 24 different countries took part in the event.
The Indian team could not qualify beyond pool matches.
Pakistan’s participating team was chosen out of 90 players who were trained during a trial process of one year conducted by a charity organization, Muslim Hands.