LAHORE: Having faced several issues back home which affected their preparation, Pakistan aim to make their top effort when they face well-prepared Cambodia in their first leg of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh on Thursday (today).
Having failed to win a single match in their three-decade long World Cup Qualifiers journey, Pakistan, ranked 197th, are rated a little weaker than Cambodia who are ranked 177th.
Having the assistance of the recently-hired English coach Stephen Constantine, Pakistan also have seven overseas players in their ranks who are likely to be part of the playing XI against a well-settled side being handled by Argentinian coach Felix Dalmas.
Stephen trained Pakistan-based boys hardly for a week before they flew for Cambodia. The foreign-based players got just a few training sessions in Cambodia under Stephen who knows Cambodia well, having played against them twice while acting as India’s manager.
Stephen believes that Pakistan will be a different unit against Cambodia.
“I think the attitude for us has to be positive. We have come here to fight and we will and you will see a different Pakistan team and hopefully we can get the results here and finish the process in Islamabad,” Stephen said in a pre-match news conference on Tuesday.
Flanked by England-born defender Easah Suliman, Stephen said that Cambodia is a good side.
“Cambodia is a good team. I have played against Cambodia for a couple of times while serving India. When you have a settled team with a coach having spent time with it it makes a difference. We got together a little bit late. The attitude of the players has been very good. I have taken information and they have worked. I hope tomorrow we will see a new Pakistan,” Stephen said.
Easah Suliman, who is expected to wear the captain’s band, was also optimistic about good results.
“We are confident,” he said. “I have just joined the team and as the coach said we have been training hard and we know it will be a good crowd attendance also. I hope it will be a good game,” said Easah, who plays for Sumgayit FK in the Azerbaijan Premier League.
Cambodia’s head coach Felix Dalmas said that Pakistan is a strong team.
“FIFA ranking does not represent quality. We have been preparing for this game. I think all players know about their responsibilities and the entire unit has the same feelings,” Felix said. “They are passionate to defend the country. We shall do our best to notch a win tomorrow.”
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers too, Pakistan had been paired up with Cambodia. The situation in those days was very critical. There were two federations working and there were also two camps. The FIFA-recognised Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) held its camp in Manama. It opted to host its home leg in Doha. Pakistan lost to Cambodia 2-0 in Cambodia and then went 2-1 down in their home leg in Doha to lose the round on aggregate 4-1.
However, this time the situation was ideal but a few late decisions denied Pakistan an ideal opportunity to train well for the Qualifiers.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Usman Ali, Salman-ul-Haq, Yousuf Butt;
Defenders: Mamoon Moosa Khan, Mohibullah, Sohail Khan, Junaid Shah, Ali Khan Niazi, Rao Umar Hayat, Abdullah Iqbal, Easah Suliman;
Midfielders: Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Uzair, Rajab Ali, Nizamuddin, Harun Hamid, Rahis Nabi;
Forwards: Waleed Khan, Mohammad Waheed, Yousuf, Fareed Khan, Abdul Samad, Otis Khan, Moin Ahmed, Shayak Dost
Alam Zeb Safi Alam Zeb Safi is a senior reporter for The News
