Afghanistan Beats Pakistan In First Soccer Match In 30 Years

Afghanistan has won a friendly soccer match 3-0 against Pakistan, the first such contest between the countries in more than 30 years.

Sanjar Ahmadi scored the first goal 19 minutes into the first half.

Arash Asifi and Hasmatullah Barakzai scored the second and third goals in the second half.

The 6,000-seat stadium sold out within one hour of the tickets going on sale for the match, with tickets costing between $2 and $5.

The head of Afghanistan's soccer federation, Karamudeen Karim, said the contest was "a positive signal of normalcy in Afghanistan."

The two neighbors last played each other in 1976 when Afghanistan won 1-0.

The Soviet invasion, civil war, and Taliban rule prevented the countries from meeting again for a rematch.

With reporting by dpa