KARACHI, Oct 22 Having finally got their visas, the 24-member national hockey squad comprising 18 players and six officials, will now be flying directly to Lille, France, in the wee hours of Oct 25 (Sunday).

Speaking to Dawn on Thursday, Chief Coach Shahid Ali Khan said that they will have to skip their visit to Poland now that their visas have arrived so late.

“We just don't have time to play in Poland now,” he said. “So we are going directly to France for the qualifiers,” he added.

The Pakistan team was earlier scheduled to leave for a tour of Europe on Sept 24 to play three Tests with France on the 27th, 28th and 30th that were to be followed by two Tests against Poland (Oct 3 and 4) and three against Belgium (Oct 6, 7 and 8). But unable to acquire Schengen visas enabling them to freely tour through Europe, they had to reschedule their programme.

Later, they dropped Belgium to play in Poland and France alone and now it is going directly to France due to getting the visas at such a late stage with the World Cup qualifiers on their head.

When asked if there still will be time for them to fit in a few warm up matches before the tournament, the coach said “We'll see if any of the club teams from the Netherlands can play with us. We might also play a match or two with Russia before the event but I'm can't say anything for sure at the moment.”

About the team's preparations, the Olympian said that they were in first-class shape. “We have practiced very hard and are hoping for the best results,” he said confidently.

The squad also includes Wasim Ahmed, Rehan Butt, Abbas Haider and goalkeeper Salman Akbar, who are joining the team after playing in the foreign leagues.

Meanwhile, sources within the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said that the team is now faced with a new problem regarding Abbas Haider's visa. According to sources, Abbas's German visa expires on the 30th but in order to reapply they have to get it cancelled first.

“Yes, Abbas's visa expires on the 30th,” the coach confirmed, “But he got it cancelled today and has reapplied for a new one, too. We are expecting it to come through by Friday,” he added.

The World Cup qualifiers in Lille, France, are scheduled to take place from Oct 31 to Nov 8. Pakistan will be playing their first match against Italy (Oct 31), second against Russia (Nov 1), third against France (Nov 3), fourth against Japan (Nov 5) and fifth against Poland (Nov 7) while the final match will be played on Nov 8 with the winner qualifying for the World Cup to be played in India next year.