The Pakistan national football team has left for India with a hope of winning not only the match but the heart of the neighbors. Before leaving for India to take part in the SAFF Football Championship, to be held at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Football Stadium from December 2 to 11, Pakistan captain Jaffer Khan pointed out that they are leaving for India to play positive football and win matches and the hearts of the people there.
PFF President Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat wished National team the best. “They shall play in an outstanding manner as the peoples of Pakistan are looking for a victory by their young players”, he hoped. He expressed his satisfaction on their training and the ability to play well. “We are going to try to win the championship no matter how tough our matches are,” said Khan, whose side starts on December 2 against Bangladesh, followed by the Maldives on December 4 and Nepal December 6.
Defending champions and hosts India are in Group A with Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals. India froze all sporting relations with Pakistan after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based across the border in Pakistan.
But a recent thaw in the broader relationship has led to hopes of a resumption of full sporting ties between the neighbours and rivals, most notably in cricket. “We are the first team to visit India for a long time and I hope that with our good conduct and play we leave a good impression of Pakistan in India,” said goalkeeper and skipper Khan. Pakistan will play their first tournament under new Serbian coach Zavisa Milosavljevich, who was hired last month.
The team: Jaffar Khan (GK, Captain), Adnan Farooq Ahmed (MW, Vice Captain), Samar Ishaq (DF, Vice Captain), Saquib Hanif (GK), Muzamil Hussain (GK), Kamran Khan (DF), Muhammad Rizwan Asif (DF), Muhammad Ahmed (DF), Naveed Ahmed (DF), Manzoor Ahmed (DF), Alamgir Khan (DF), Faisal Iqbal (MF), Ansar Abbas (MF), Saddam Hussain (MF), Kaleem Ullah (MF), Muhammad Adil (MF), Muhammad Ikram (MF), Atif Bashir Qureshi (MF), Jadeed Khan Pathan (FW) Shakir Lashari (FW) Husnain Abbas (FW) and Junaid Qadir (FW).
The officials of the National team are Zavisha Milosavljevich (Coach/Manager), Syed Nasir Ismail (Assistant Coach), Gohar Zaman (Assistant Coach/Assistant Manager), Muhammad Aslam Khan (Goalkeeper Coach) and Dr Kamran Mehdi (Physio/Media Manager)
Pakistan has been placed in Group B with the Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal. All the matches of the group will be conducted at the Jawaharlal Nehru Football Stadium New Delhi. Pakistan will open their mission on December 2 with the match against Bangladesh, followed by their games against Maldives on November 4 and against Nepal on December 6.
