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| April 6, 2006 | Thursday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 7, 1427 |
AFC Challenge Cup: Pakistan face must win situation against Macau
LAHORE, April 5: Pakistan clash with Macau under a must-win situation to qualify for the quarterfinals of the first AFC Challenge Football Cup 2006 on Thursday. It will be the second clash between the two countries. The first was won by Pakistan 3-0 in the 13th Asian Cup qualifying round in Singapore on March 21, 2003.
Pakistan are favourites to win as their 155th World ranking is far better than Macau’s 192.
The Group-D encounter will take place at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Earlier, in the same group Tajikistan take on Kyrgyzstan in an all-Central Asian tie.
Macau is under Japanese coach Masanaga Kageyama, who finished his AFC pro-licence course last year with excellent results.
His appointment was a result of the Macau Football Association's request to the Japan Football Association (JFA) for a full-time coach to help the team.
Pakistan surprised fancied Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the opening match but were unlucky to lose against Tajikistan 2-0.
Macau lost to Tajikistan 4-0 in the first match.
On April 4, Macau's second match against Kyrgyzstan was abandoned due to heavy rains and it has been rescheduled for April 7.
Kyrgyzstan were leading 1-0 with an 18-minute strike by Vladimir Verevkin when the play was stopped. Thursday's fixtures: Sri Lanka v Nepal. Tajikistan v Kyrgyzstan. Pakistan v Macau. Bhutan v Brunei Darussalam.
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