Pakistan national football team

Pakistan national football team

Pakistan
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Pak Shaheen (پاک شاہین)
AssociationPakistan Football Federation
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachJosé Antonio Nogueira
CaptainSaddam Hussain
Home stadiumPunjab Stadium
People's Football Stadium
FIFA codePAK
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current201 Steady (16 August 2018)
Highest142 (February 1993)
Lowest203 (April–May 2017, October 2017–May 2018)
Elo ranking
Current195 Decrease 1 (8 July 2018)
Highest96 (9 December 1959)
Lowest208 (2012)
First international
 Iran 5–1 Pakistan 
(TehranIran; 27 October 1950
Biggest win
 Thailand 0–7 Pakistan 
(Kuala LampurMalaysia; 5 August 1960)[1]
 Pakistan 9–2 Guam 
(TaipeiTaiwan; 6 April 2008)[2]
 Pakistan 7–0 Bhutan 
(DhakaBangladesh; 8 December 2009)[3]
Biggest defeat
 Iran 9–1 Pakistan 
(TehranIran; 12 March 1969)[4]
 Kenya 8–0 Pakistan 
(RiyadhSaudi Arabia; 9 May 1978)[5]
 Iraq 8–0 Pakistan 
(BaghdadIraq; 28 May 1993)[6]
The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorised events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan's home ground is Punjab Stadium, Lahore. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 1948 joining the Asian Football Confederation. Pakistan's national team debuted in 1950.
Pakistan contest the South Asian Football Federation Championship and South Asian Games, which alternate biennially. Pakistan won the Colombo Cup in 1952. Pakistan has great record in South Asian Games, won four gold medals in 1989199120042006 and won one bronze medal in 1987 respectively.

History

1950s – Pakistan's international debut

Pakistan made its international debut on a tour to Iran and Iraq in October 1950. Pakistan lost its first match 5–1 against Iran. Pakistan’s next international outing came in the Colombo Cup where the team played its first match against India which ended in a goalless draw. During the 50s, Pakistan played internationally in the following Colombo Cup editions which were played in India in 1954, then East Pakistan in 1955, and the Asian Games in Philippines in 1954 and in Japan in 1958.

Early 1960s and 1970s

In the early 1960s, Pakistan produced one of the finest players to ever grace the field in Pakistan Football History, Abdul Ghafoor Majna was nicknamed the "Pakistani Pele" and "Black Pearl of Pakistan". Ghafoor was part of Pakistan national football team setup when it was in the top 10 teams of Asia. According to The Express Tribune, he was "the last man alive from the days when the Pakistan football team was good enough to beat USSRUAE and China – a far cry from the state of affairs right now."[7]
It was three years before Pakistan played another competitive fixture, when they played in the first RDC Cup and finished third. In 1967, they played a series of friendlies against Saudi Arabia, all ending in draws. Later in the year Pakistan lost their Asian Cup qualifiers against Burma and Khmer and drew their final match against India. They then hosted the second RDC Cup and finished third, which included the 4–7 defeat to Turkey. In 1969, they travelled to Iran to take part in a friendly tournament, in which they had a 2–1 win against Iraq and a record 9–1 defeat by Iran.
As a result of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation WarEast Pakistan became The People's Republic of Bangladesh and consequently the Pakistani team lost the right to call upon Bengali players. In the early 1970s the national side's participation was restricted to the RDC Cup and the 1974 Asian Games, and a single friendly against South Korea in 1978. The most notable result in this period was a 2–2 draw against Turkey. They also lost 8–0 to Kenya in Riyadh Saudi Arabia's Arabi tournament.

1980–1990 (Rise and fall)

In the King's Cup in 1982, Pakistan secured a goalless draw against Indonesia, the team's first clean sheet since 1962. After a loss to Thailand, they gained a 3–2 victory versus Malaysia and although they lost a close game against China, they were able to win 1–0 in their final game against Singapore.
Pakistan hosted a friendly tournament involving IranBangladeshOman and Nepal in 1982. The Green Shirts started off with a 2–1 over Bangladesh. They lost to Iran, but came back and beat Nepal 2–0. The last game against Oman ended nil-nil and Pakistan ended the tournament as runners-up. However, in 1984, the national team lost 4 out of 5 games in the Asian Cup qualifiers, the only victory coming against North Yemen 4–1.
The national team hosted another tournament in 1985, this time inviting North KoreaIndonesiaBangladesh and Nepal. A goalless draw against the North Koreans boosted the side, and they beat Nepal 1–0. However, losses in the final two games against Bangladesh and Indonesia meant they were again runners up. In the South Asian Games, Pakistan ended fourth after losing a penalty shoot out to Nepal.
In the 1986 Asian Games, Pakistan lost all their games. However, a year later the side was more successful at the South Asian Games, winning the bronze medal match against Bangladesh 1–0. In 1988, they lost all their Asian Cup qualifiers. Pakistan made their first attempt to qualify for the World Cup in 1989. However, they were unable to win any of their matches. The national team bounced back, when several months later they took Gold at the South Asian Games, beating Bangladesh 1–0 in the final.

1990s to 2003 (Decline)

Pakistan had another early exit in the Asian Games, losing all three games in 1990. In the 1991 South Asian Games, Pakistan beat the Maldives in the final 2–0 to win their second Gold. The next year they failed to qualify for another Asian Cup after defeats in both qualifiers, after a World Cup qualifying campaign in 1993 where in one game they lost to Iraq 8–0. Later in the year the first SAFF Cup took place, and the national team finished fourth, but at the 1993 South Asian Games, they were unable to get past the group stage.
In 1995, Pakistan went out of the SAFF Cup group stage on goal difference. Between 1996 and 1997, the team lost all their Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying games. Pakistan came third in the 1997 SAFF Cup, thanks to a 1–0 victory over Sri Lanka in the third place playoff. The 1999 SAFF Cup saw Pakistan finish bottom of their group, and Pakistan also failed to get out of the group stage of the final South Asian Games to hold full internationals.
Pakistan were unable to win any of their 2000 Asian Cup qualifiers. The following year Pakistan achieved their first point in World Cup qualification, thanks to a hat-trick by Gohar Zaman in a 3–3 draw against Sri Lanka, but all other matches ended in defeat.
In 2002, Pakistan played in an unsuccessful four match series against Sri Lanka. At the 2003 SAFF Cup, Pakistan finished fourth, losing 2–1 in extra time to India in the third place playoff. Later in the year, Pakistan won their first Asian Cup qualifier with a 3–0 over Macao, but still were unable to qualify. They rounded off the year with defeats to Kyrgyzstan in the World Cup qualifiers.

2004–2013 (New set-up and changes)

2004 saw changes in Pakistan football, with a new administration in place by this time and a new national league up and running. A victory against India in a three match series, the final match ending 3–0 to the Greenshirts, followed, and they went on the reach the semi-finals of the 2005 SAFF Cup. They lost the semifinal against defending champion Bangladesh by 0–1 margin.
The Pakistan team lost their first two Asian Cup qualifiers in 2006, in between which they took part in the first AFC Challenge Cup 2006. They failed to get past the group stage, but beat Kyrgyzstan 1–0. Back at the Asian Cup qualifiers, they lost their remaining fixtures. In the World Cup qualifiers in 2007, they fell to a heavy defeat by the Asian champions Iraq and after the 7–0 loss, little was expected on them in the second leg. However, the Greenshirts held them to a goalless draw. In 2008, Pakistan travelled to Nepal for two friendlies before taking on the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. Although they won against Chinese Taipei 2–1 in the first match, and beat Guam in a record-equalling 9–2 win in the final match, other results, including a 7–1 defeat to Sri Lanka, saw them again fail to reach the finals.
In the SAFF Championship 2008, Pakistan failed to go beyond the group stages, losing to Maldives 3–0, India 2–1 and Nepal 4–1, which signalled the end of Akhtar Mohiuddin's tenure as head coach. After Mohiuddin's departure, Austrian-Hungarian coach George Kottan was hired and the veteran tactician took a star-studded team to the SAFF Championship 2009. Despite calling upon foreign players such as Adnan AhmedShabir KhanAmjad IqbalAtif Bashir and Reis Ashraf, the side were unable were defeat 1–0 by Sri Lanka, before drawing 0–0 with Bangladesh as former Manchester United star Adnan missed a late penalty to seal a win. Pakistan won against Bhutan 7–0 in their last game.
Kottan was soon sacked in February 2010, Pakistan had no senior games during the entire calendar year but saw the appointment of Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts for the U-23 Team. For the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 qualifiers in 2011, KRL FC coach Tariq Lutfi was called up once more and failed to deliver emphatically. Defeats such as the 3–0 against Turkmenistan and 3–1 against India meant that the side were already out of the qualifiers despite beating Chinese Taipei by 2–0. Later in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in July, Bangladesh thoroughly beat Pakistan 3–0 in Dhaka, before earning a 0–0 draw in Lahore a few days later.
That saw the end of Lutfi's reign, with Serbian boss Zaviša Milosavljević taking over in November 2011 right before the SAFF Championship 2011. Despite having little time to influence the team, Zavisa managed to hold Bangladesh 0–0, Maldives 0–0 and Nepal 1–1 in the India-hosted SAFF Championship 2011. However, they were unable to progress into the semi-finals and returned home.
2012's sole game was witnessed in November against Singapore, who thrashed Pakistan 4–0 at home. Pakistan then started 2013 with a bang, winning two games against Nepal with identical 1–0 margins thanks to the brilliance of Hassan Bashir. A 1–1 draw with Maldives followed, but with congested fixtures Pakistan ended up losing the last game 3–0 in Male.

2013–2017

Pakistan then played the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification in Bishkek, losing out 1–0 to Tajikistan in injury-time.Pakistan also lost 1–0 against the Kyrgyzstan after scoring in the 1st minute, but with Hassan Bashir returning, Pakistan comfortably beat Macau 2–0.
Pakistan played a friendly against Afghanistan in August, losing 3–0 emphatically without their foreign-based players. Coach Zaviša Milosavljević was sacked and replaced by Bahrain's Mohammad Al-Shamlan, who acted as a coaching consultant to Shahzad Anwar in the 2013 SAFF Championship
The Shaheens played their hearts out, but were unable to defeat India and lost 1–0 after a horrendous own-goal from Aqib Riaz. Against hosts NepalHassan Bashir scored an early goal, only to see 15-year-old Bimal Gharti Magar level things in injury-time. However, Pakistan beat Bangladesh 2–1 and were unlucky not to reach the semi-finals after losing out on head-to-head with India.
Pakistan did not qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, being eliminated by Bangladesh in the first round of the AFC qualifying section, losing the first game 3–0, but drawing 0–0 in the return game, being 3–0 as the aggregate score.
In 2014, Pakistan played a 2 match friendly series with India. All matches were played at Bangalore Stadium in India. India beat Pakistan 1–0 in the first friendly, leading the series, but Pakistan won the second match 0–2.
For Pakistan's campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they were to face Yemen in Round 1 in the AFC qualifying section. In the first match, Pakistan lost 3-1. For the second match, Pakistan drew 0–0, yemen eliminating Pakistan from the tournament with an aggregate score of 3–1 in favor of Yemen[8]

FIFA Suspension[edit]

Pakistan was suspended from all football activities by FIFA on 10 October 2017. The ban was lifted on 13 March 2018.[9][10]

Stadiums[edit]


Punjab Stadium (Lahore) main entrance.
For the first fifty years of their existence, Pakistan played their home matches all around the country. They initially used cricket grounds before later moving on to football stadiums. Pakistan played at a number of different venues across the country, though by the year 2003 this had largely settled down to having Punjab Stadium as the primary venue, with Jinnah Sports Stadium And Peoples Football Stadium used on occasions where Punjab Stadium was unavailable for home matches.
The Pakistan Football Federation has its headquarters near the stadium. It recently hosted most of the matches for the AFC President's Cup 2007Muhammad Essa was the first man to score an international goal at this venue when he surged Pakistan ahead against India in June 2005.

Kit[edit]

The Pakistan national team's home kit has always been a green shirt and white shorts. The colours are derived from the flag of Pakistan which is a green field with a white crescent moon and five-rayed star at its centre, and a vertical white stripe at the hoist side.[11] The away shirt colour has changed several times. The national team has used white shirt with white shorts or white shirt with green shorts. Historically, white shirt with green shorts is the most often used colour combination. The kits are currently manufactured by Forward SportsForward Sports is the official provider of balls for FIFA World Cup 2014 and FIFA World Cup 2018[12], the company came into prominence for landing the contract of over 3,000 “Brazuca” balls that were used at the FIFA World Cup 2014 in BrazilBloomberg and BBC are among many news agencies that have covered the company.

Players and management[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following 20 players are in squad for SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018 in Bangladesh.
  • Match date: 12 September 2018
  • Opposition:  India
No.Pos.PlayerDate of birth (age)CapsGoalsClub
1GKYousuf Butt18 October 1989 (age 28)150Denmark Greve Fodbold
18GKAhsanullah Ahmed23 February 1995 (age 23)10Pakistan SSGC
22GKSaqib Hanif28 April 1994 (age 24)20Maldives BA. A. Maalhos

2DFMohammad Umar Hayat22 September 1996 (age 21)10Pakistan WAPDA
3DFMohsin Ali1 June 1996 (aged 22)70Pakistan Navy
4DFAbdullah Qazi25 March 1995 (age 23)30United States La Maquina
5DFNaveed Ahmed3 January 1993 (age 25)110Pakistan Navy
6DFZesh Rehman14 October 1983 (age 34)211Hong Kong Southern
23DFFaisal Iqbal8 April 1992 (age 26)190Pakistan NBP
28DFShehbaz Younus2 March 1996 (age 22)20Pakistan Army

7MFBilalwal-ur-Rehman4 October 1993 (age 24)50Pakistan KRL
8MFMehmood Khan10 June 1991 (age 27)70Pakistan KRL
12MFSaadullah Khan4 June 1994 (age 24)61Pakistan SSGC
17MFSaddam Hussain (Captain)10 April 1993 (age 25)210Northern Cyprus Larnaka Gençler Birliği S.K.
21MFMuhammad Adil9 July 1992 (age 26)210Australia Hawkesbury City FC
27MFFaheem Ahmed25 May 1998 (age 20)21Pakistan WAPDA

9FWMuhammad Ali2 September 1989 (age 29)111Denmark Greve Fodbold
10FWHassan Bashir (Vice-captain)7 January 1987 (age 31)176Denmark BSV
14FWAdnan Mohammad2 July 1996 (age 22)00Denmark Lyngby
16FWMohammad Riaz27 February 1996 (age 22)41Pakistan K-Electric

Current staff[edit]


Current Coaching staff of Pakistan football team.
PositionName
Head CoachBrazil José Antonio Nogueira
Assistant CoachPakistan Mohammad Essa
Assistant CoachPakistan Muhammad Habib
Goalkeeping CoachPakistan Zahid Tajj
Fitness CoachBrazil Jose Beto Portella
PhysiotherapistPakistan Mohammad Adnan
MasseurPakistan Mohammad Aslam
PFF Technical DirectorPakistan Shahzad Anwar

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2018[edit]

Coaches

List of head coaches of Pakistan

Pakistan team in FIFA world ranking[edit]

1993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017
142158160173153168179190181178168177158164163165156171179189172188184197201
Source

Pakistan's all-time records[edit]

Last match updated :  Bhutan on 8 September 2018
Pakistan national football team head to head records
OpponentsPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAGDConfederation
 Afghanistan6402550AFC
 Bahrain210151+4AFC
 Bangladesh176471017–7AFC
 Bhutan3300121+11AFC
 Brunei110060+6AFC
 Cambodia100101–1AFC
 China PR9126824–16AFC
 Chinese Taipei531175+2AFC
 Guam110092+7AFC
 India2336141734–17AFC
 Indonesia401329–7AFC
 Iran1511131167–56AFC
 Iraq9117640–34AFC
 Israel201124–2UEFA
 Japan201125–3AFC
 Jordan7007124–23AFC
 Kazakhstan3003014–14UEFA
 Kenya100108–8CAF
 North Korea1010000AFC
 South Korea4004124–23AFC
 Kuwait300306–6AFC
 Kyrgyzstan410317–6AFC
 Lebanon3003217–15AFC
 Macau321072+5AFC
 Malaysia6114416–12AFC
 Maldives10433990AFC
 Moldova100105–5UEFA
 Myanmar83231013–3AFC
   Nepal167451817+1AFC
 Oman4013212–10AFC
 Palestine300307–7AFC
 Philippines100113–2AFC
 Qatar100105–5AFC
 Russia (inc.  Soviet Union)100105–5UEFA
 Singapore6213916–7AFC
 Sri Lanka208482831–3AFC
 Tajikistan200203–3AFC
 Thailand5104716–9AFC
 Turkey4013916–7UEFA
 Turkmenistan100103–3AFC
 United Arab Emirates5005417–13AFC
 Vietnam (inc.  South Vietnam)1010110AFC
 Yemen5113612–6AFC
Total2295539135122518-39643 Nations

Tournament records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World CupFIFA World Cup qualification
Hosts / YearPldWD*LGSGAPldWD*LGFGA
Uruguay 1930 to France 1938Did not existDid not exist
Brazil 1950 to Mexico 1986Did not enterDid not enter
Italy 1990Did Not Qualify4004112
United States 1994Did Not Qualify8008236
France 1998Did Not Qualify4004322
South KoreaJapan 2002Did Not Qualify6015529
Germany 2006Did Not Qualify200206
South Africa 2010Did Not Qualify201107
Brazil 2014Did Not Qualify201103
Russia 2018Did Not Qualify201113
Qatar 2022Did Not QualifyTBD
Total0/190000030042612118

AFC Asian Cup[edit]

AFC Asian CupAFC Asian Cup qualification
Hosts / YearPldWD*LGSGAPldWD*LGFGA
Hong Kong 1956Did not qualifyWithdrew
South Korea 1960Did not qualify6213810
Israel 1964Did not qualifyWithdrew
Iran 1968Did not qualify301214
Thailand 1972Did not qualifyWithdrew
Iran 1976Did not qualifyWithdrew
Kuwait 1980Did not qualifyWithdrew
Singapore 1984Did not qualify4103414
Qatar 1988Did not qualify4004112
Japan 1992Did not qualify200209
United Arab Emirates 1996Did not qualify200207
Lebanon 2000Did not qualify4004016
China 2004Did not qualify210133
IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam 2007Did not qualify8017423
Qatar 2011Did not enterDid not enter
Australia 2015Did not enterDid not enter
United Arab Emirates 2019Did not qualify201113
Total00000037442922101

Asian Games[edit]

Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.
Asian Games Record
YearResultGPWD*LGSGA
India 1951-000000
Philippines 1954-210174
Japan 1958-201124
Indonesia 1962-000000
Thailand 1966-000000
Thailand 1970-000000
Iran 1974-3102613
Thailand 1978-000000
India 1982-000000
South Korea 1986-4004215
China 1990-3003116
Japan 1994-000000
Thailand 1998-000000
2002–presentSee Pakistan national under-23 football team
Total5/131421111852

South Asian Games[edit]

AFC Challenge Cup[edit]

The AFC Challenge Cup was held every two years from 2006 through 2014.
AFC Challenge CupAFC Challenge Cup qualification record
Hosts / YearRoundPldWD*LGSGAPldWD*LGFGA
Bangladesh 2006Group Stage311134
India 2008Did not qualify32011210
Sri Lanka 2010Did not qualify312093
Nepal 2012Did not qualify310236
Maldives 2014Did not qualify310222
Total-311134125252621

Pestabola Merdeka

South Asian Games
YearHost countryPosition
1984KathmanduNepal NepalDNP
1985DhakaBangladesh BangladeshDNP
1987KolkataIndia India3rd
1989IslamabadPakistan Pakistan1st
1991ColomboSri Lanka Sri Lanka1st
1993DhakaBangladesh BangladeshDNP
1995MadrasIndia IndiaDNP
1999KathmanduNepal NepalDNP
2004IslamabadPakistan Pakistan1st
2006ColomboSri Lanka Sri Lanka1st
2010DhakaBangladesh BangladeshRound-1
2016Guwahati and ShillongIndia IndiaDNP
2019KathmanduNepal NepalTBD
Team performance

SAFF Championship
YearHost countryPosition
1993LahorePakistan Pakistan4th
1995ColomboSri Lanka Sri LankaRound-1
1997KathmanduNepal Nepal3rd
1999MargaoIndia IndiaRound-1
2003DhakaBangladesh Bangladesh4th
2005IslamabadPakistan PakistanSemi-Finalist
2008MaléMaldives Maldives and ColomboSri Lanka Sri LankaRound-1
2009DhakaBangladesh BangladeshRound-1
2011New DelhiIndia IndiaRound-1
2013KathmanduNepal NepalRound-1
2015KeralaIndia IndiaDNP
2018DhakaBangladesh BangladeshTBD
2020KarachiPakistan PakistanTBD
ECO Cup
YearHost countryPosition
1965TehranIran Iran3rd
1967DhakaPakistan East Pakistan3rd
1969AnkaraTurkey Turkey3rd
1970TehranIran Iran3rd
1974KarachiPakistan Pakistan3rd
1993Tehran, Iran IranRound-1
Colombo Cup
YearHost countryPosition
1952Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon Ceylon1st
1953Rangoon, Myanmar Burma2nd
1954Calcutta, India India2nd
1955Dhaka, Pakistan East Pakistan2nd

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