Pakistan National Women’s Football team began its 2026 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying campaign with a disappointing result against Chinese Taipei. Placed 42nd in the FIFA Rankings, Chinese Taipei showed their attacking prowess by scoring eight goals against Pakistan and conceding none in the process.
Meanwhile, it was a day to forget for the 157th-ranked Women in green who were playing their first competitive fixture since the SAFF Championship match against Bangladesh in October 2024.
Chinese Taipei 8-0 Pakistan – as it happened
The Chinese Taipei side made a cautious start to the game and were not able to find their rhythm early on. But they eventually found their groove and created the first real chance of the game in the 8th minute. A poor clearance by Suha Irani fell into the path of Chen Yu-Chin, who then unleashed a right-footed shot towards the goal, which was parried to safety by Zeeyana Jivraj.
Five minutes later, Chen Jin-Wen found Pu His-Hui with a brilliantly timed through ball that opened Pakistan’s defense in the Asian Cup qualifying campaign. She calmly took the ball in her stride and deposited it into the back of the net via a deflection off the post.
A couple of minutes later, Chen doubled her side’s advantage by scoring an audacious goal. After receiving the ball inside Pakistan’s penalty area, Chen controlled the ball with his left foot and lobbed it over the goalkeeper with her right foot. Zeeyana had no choice but to watch the ball as it sailed over her head into the net.
Zeeyana, who was making her debut for his national side, was kept busy by the opposition throughout the match. She made some noticeable saves during the first half. Including a couple of long-range efforts from Cheng Ying-Hui and Chen Yu-Chin. On both occasions, she had to make full-length dives to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line.
Despite her best efforts, Zeeyana was often led down by her defense. In the 39th minute, a weak clearance from Sana fell into the feet of Su Yu-Hsuan. She calmly volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
Pakistan’s golden opportunity to open their account came in the 43rd minute. When Zahmena Malik dispossessed Cheng at the halfway line. Cheng was the last defender, and Zahmena had plenty of space to run into. She carried the ball well and showed plenty of composure until the last point, when she just had to slot the ball into the back of the net. After doing so well, she just couldn’t hit the ball on target, squandering the chance for her side.
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Second Half
The second half of Pakistan’s opening match at the Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign was much the same as the first one, with Chinese Taipei enjoying plenty of possession of the ball. The Blue Magpies managed to score their fourth goal of the evening courtesy of a brilliant strike from Hsu Yi-Yun. She struck a fierce shot towards goal from the edge of the box. Although Zeeyana managed to get her hands on the ball, it was struck with such force that she was unable to prevent the ball from going in.
After conceding the fourth goal, the Women in green started to show some attacking prowess with diaspora players, Layla Banaras and Marium Mahmood impressing the most. Although they were unable to score but there were signs of what these women are capable of if provided proper facilities and proper game time throughout the year.
As we approached the 85th minute, it seemed like the game would finish 4-0 in favor of Chinese Taipei. But the Pakistan Women’s team completely lost the plot in the latter stages of the game. A combination of fatigue and lack of game awareness led to them conceding four more goals before the final whistle.
Pu His-Hui and Liu Yu-Chiao scored from close range in the 86th and 88th minutes, respectively. Meanwhile, He Jia-Shiuan scored a brace in the stoppage time to finish the game 8-0 In favor of her side.
What’s the next challenge for the Pakistan Women’s Team in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Campaign?
The women in green have made a disappointing start to their 2026 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign. The difference between the two sides was apparent before the game, given their FIFA Rankings, but the collapse that Pakistan suffered in the dying stages of the game is not justifiable.
With so many players playing out of position, Adeel Rizki and his coaching staff have plenty of questions to answer from the Pakistan fans. Whatever he was trying to implement has massively backfired. He will have to rethink his tactics if he wishes his team to do well in the remaining games.
The Pakistan Women’s team will be in action on 2nd July against the hosts, Indonesia. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6 pm (PST).
