Olympic 2020 Qualifiers: Pakistan stun Netherlands with 4-4 draw

KARACHI: Pakistan displayed a spirited performance by holding a much stronger Netherlands 4-4 in the Olympic 2020 Qualifiers in Amstelveen, Netherlands on Saturday.

Pakistan, ranked 17th in international rankings, stunned Netherlands with their aggressive counter-attacks as they showed no signs of pressure against the hosts.

Mubashir helped Pakistan take lead in the 5th minute with a penalty corner. The Green-shirts then completely dominated Netherlands in the first quarter and did not let their opponents score.

In the 20th minute, Netherlands' Van Der Weederen Mink was able to win a penalty stroke after a mistake made by a Pakistan defender. The Dutch easily converted to hand his team their first goal.

Before the match, Netherlands, ranked 3rd, were being considered favourites to win with a huge margin. However, the Green-shirts surprise the Dutch with their fast-paced attacks and solid defence.

Forward Kellermen Bjorn scored the second goal for Netherlands. But just five minutes later, Pakistan were able to equalise through Ghazanfar Ali, who successfully converted a penalty corner to make it 2-2.

Pakistan continued their attacks and won another penalty corner after piercing the Dutch defence through short passes and dodges. Mohammad Rizwan made no mistake as he darted the ball in to put Green-shirts in lead.

However, in the 52nd minute, Kemperman netted a beautiful goal after dodging the Pakistan defenders and beating their goalkeeper to make it 3-3.

Mubashir scored his second goal on a penalty corner in the 58th minute as Pakistan began to eye a shock victory. However, Netherlands managed to hold their nerves and won a penalty corner in the dying moments of the match and Van Der Weerden dragged the ball into the net to help his team salvage a draw.

Pakistan were dominant for most part of the match as they kept the much stronger Netherlands under pressure and almost snatched an unlikely win against them. The two teams will meet in the second of the two qualifying matches on Sunday (today).