Pakistan have announced a 23-member squad on Saturday for the FIFA ASEAN Cup in Indonesia, with head coach Nolberto Solano set to join the team directly in Indonesia after a visa delay kept him away from the training camp in Islamabad.
The Pakistan Football Federation confirmed the squad, bringing together players travelling from Pakistan as well as members of the national team based abroad.
Sources said Solano was unable to obtain a Pakistani visa in time after applying under the wrong category. The PFF reapplied once the error was identified, but the process was delayed.
Assistant coaches Titus Bramble and Walid Javaid have been overseeing Pakistan’s training camp in the head coach’s absence.
Solano will travel directly to Indonesia to join the squad before the tournament, which runs from September 25 to October 5.
The squad will be led by captain Abdullah Iqbal while veteran forward Kaleemullah makes a comeback to the national side.
Abdul Samad, the Pakistan U-17 captain, is also part of the squad. The midfielder from Swat recently signed a two-year deal with Azerbaijani champions Qarabag FK.
He represented Pakistan at the UEFA U-16 Development Tournament in Kazakhstan in April, where he captained the side and scored a header against the hosts in Pakistan’s UEFA debut.
PFF President Syed Mohsen Gilani visited Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad to meet the national team during their training camp, speaking about the preparations and reviewing arrangements for the team.
“We will be playing teams that are significantly higher ranked than us, and for us this is a historic moment,” Mohsen said in a video released by the PFF.
Mohsen also revealed that the facilities provided by the Pakistan Sports Board were not up to the mark.
“We used the PSB’s facilities in the past, but there never were complaints of this kind,” he said. “But this time when I was made aware of the situation, we immediately changed the facilities, and it will not happen again, and it shouldn’t happen again.”
“We have full faith in our coaches and players, and I think we are ready to show the world that we are ready to play the big boys.”
Pakistan have been drawn in Group B of Division One alongside Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Green Shirts begin their campaign against Thailand on September 26 before facing the Philippines on September 29, with their final group-stage fixture against Vietnam on October 2.
Pakistan entered the tournament after China withdrew from the inaugural edition to focus on preparations for the 2027 Asian Cup and 2030 World Cup qualifiers.
Pakistan won the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament in the Maldives earlier this year to end a 74-year wait for a title.
Squad:
Yousuf Butt, Hassan Ali, Saqib Hanif, Abdullah Shah, Abdul Rahman, Ali Khan, Ali Agha, Hayyan Khattak, Ali Uzair, Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Raza, Abdul Samad Arshad, Kaleemullah, Shayek Dost, Abdullah Iqbal, Easah Suliman, Mohib Ullah, Mamoon Khan, Mohd Fazal, Haris Zeb, Umer Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Ali Khan.
Reference Link:- https://www.dawn.com/news/2031158