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KARACHI: National football team chief coach Tariq Lutfi has said that despite being way behind in world rankings in comparison to their three opponents, Pakistan will go all out to make a mark in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next week.
Pakistan are to appear in three Group 'B' encounters with the first one being against Turkmenistan on March 21 followed by one against India on March 23 and the last against Chinese Taipei on March 25.
“Pakistan are currently ranked 173rd in the world while Turkmenistan are 133rd. Likewise, India and Chinese Taipei are somewhere in the one hundred and fifties.
“Then with the Turkmenistan team coming in the tournament after playing in Turkey, India doing the same in Malaysia and Chinese Taipei joining after a tour of Europe, these teams are also lucky to be getting a lot of international exposure.
“So not really being in the same league as them, it will still be great if we are able to achieve something in the forthcoming matches for any success on our part will be like creating an upset in the event,” said Pakistan's most-experienced coach to date while speaking to a few hours ahead of the team's departure to Malaysia on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) announced the Pakistan squad, which, according to Lutfi, is a good blend of youth and experience.
Defender Samar Ishaq has been named captain and midfielder Abdul Aziz his deputy.
Lutfi, who had earlier agreed with the PFF top brass that grooming their under-21 boys was now their main aim, recalled several seniors including four foreign-born Pakistani players to the Pakistan camp for the assignment.
“Well, not bound by the U-21 restriction for the qualifiers, we decided to recall the best of our senior boys too this time. But the team still comprises 60 per cent youngsters,” he said.
Pakistan had recently shown much spirit against Malaysia and Palestine when they held both sides to goalless draws. The coach feels that finishing has been a problem with them.
“It was due to our weak finishing that we missed six goals against Malaysia in the Olympics qualifier in Lahore,” he pointed out.
“It was not at all a bad or defensive show by our lads who fought bravely against the much more experienced national sides,” he said.
Asked how the problem can be solved, Lutfi said: “Well, I hope that the inclusion of the seniors will take care of the finishing to some extent.”
Reminded about his earlier announcement after the second Pakistan-Palestine match in Karachi that he found the foreign-born Pakistani players somewhat lacking in their commitment to the land, he said that he didn't mean it for all of them.
“The ones in the team now are tried and tested seniors, such as Adnan Farooq, Atif Bashir and Kashif Mumtaz.”
Also donning the green jersey with pride is 27-year-old British-born defender Zeeshan Rehman or “Zesh” (as he is popularly known).
Zesh, who last played for Pakistan in a World Cup qualifying game against Iraq in 2008 that also resulted in a 0-0 score-line, is currently under contract with Thai Premier League Champions Muangthong United. But he decided to also join the Pakistan team in Malaysia at the request of his Pakistani fans.
“I have had thousands of messages from fans wanting me to return to the team which is nice,” said Zesh in a correspondence with Dawn.
“It's always been an honour to represent Pakistan and it is more practical now to come and play due to my current location. So I'm very excited about joining my team-mates and help them climb the world rankings,” he added.
Asked if his club had any problem with his taking leave to play for Pakistan, he said: “They are very supportive and happy for me to play for Pakistan as they know how much it means to me to represent my country.”
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Amir Gul and Mohammad Umer.
Defenders: Alamgir Khan, Manzoor Ahmed, Atif Bashir, Samar Ishaq (captain) and Zesh Rehman.
Midfielders: Mahmood Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Adil, Arif Hussain, Abdul Aziz (vice captain), Nasrullah Khan, Adnan Farooq and Kashif Mumtaz.
Strikers: Jadeed Khan Pathan, Kaleemullah, Imran Niazi, Mohammad Qasim, Arif Mahmood and Mohammad Rizwan.
Officials: Tariq Lutfi (chief coach); Nasir Ismail and Gohar Zaman (assistant coaches); Mohammad Aslam Khan (goalkeeping coach); Kamran Mehdi (physio); Sardar Naveed Haider Khan (manager).
