In an exciting turn of events, the Pakistan Football team qualified for Round 2. Preparing for the crucial 2nd stage, Shaheens are undergoing rigorous training under the strict mentorship of Stephan Constantine. The team looked heavily engaged in today’s session. Today, our correspondent, Mr Usama Bhutta, had the opportunity to attend the practice of the Pakistan Football team and interview the Coach himself. He shed light on the team’s performance, expectations and preparations for the upcoming encounters.
Coach Stephan Constantine’s Insights
In his media talk, Coach Stephan was asked about the upcoming tour to Saudi Arabia and the difficult encounters ahead, from the perspective of the team’s performance.
He replied: “Well, I think the preparation has been okay. Again, I think we can do better in terms of starting at the right time. We’re a little bit late. We need to sort out the visas so we don’t have to spend time wasting on this. But the boys have worked hard. A couple of days ago, we were supposed to train in the stadium today, but the weather was so bad yesterday, we did not want to destroy the field today. Heavy water. Look, all the games for us are important. It was important for Pakistan to qualify.”
He further added: “This is the most important. And now we have to take advantage of these six games. When I say take advantage, I mean make sure that everybody in Pakistan knows that there is a football team. Make sure the world knows there is a Pakistan football team. We have a population of 240,000,000, plus hundreds of Pakistani boys outside who want to play for the team.”
“Everybody wants to play now because we have World Cup qualifiers. So I think that’s good. We also have to think about the Asian Cup qualifiers. There’s another six games there that will be next year. So for me, I think it’s a building process. We haven’t played football for a long time. We certainly haven’t won for a long time. Games with Saudi, Jordan and Kazakhstan, are all difficult games. We could lose all of those games. But what will happen is we will go and fight. We will try to develop a culture, a football culture. And the important thing is that we learn from every game” he added.
On the issue of Otis Khan and some other players facing issues, Constantine gave his remarks: “Look, as I said, you’re talking about Otis Khan, who’s been cleared to pay for this game, which I think he adds value to the team, for sure. Expectation, Saudi is going to the World Cup. This is clear. Can we go to the World Cup this time? No, we cannot. We are not ready to go to the World Cup. But what we can do is build a team in these six games, these six qualifiers, build a team and try to qualify for the Asian Cup. This is our target. Our target is not to go to the World Cup. We are not ready for that.”
He was also asked about the non-selection of Syed Abdullah Shah, to which he replied: “Okay, so I’m not going to talk about any particular player who’s not here. I will talk about the players who are here. They’re the only ones that are in.”
Constantine shared his insights about the Saudi team and Salem Al-Dawsari: “As for Saudi hasn’t won a single game. Have you seen who they play? Did you see who they were? I don’t talk about him. We talk about the Saudi team as a whole. One player is not going to beat us. It’s going to be eleven in the substitutes and they have one of the best coaches in the world.
“Look, they are a very strong team. We have 100% respect for Saudi the team, but we’re not afraid of them. We can’t be afraid because if we are afraid we should stay home and we are not. So we will go, we will fight. I know the probabilities are not in our favor but I think you have to consider where we were three weeks ago and where we are now, where we will be in three months. In six months. You cannot build a team in 2, 3, or 4 games. We need time. We have players here. The willingness to work is super. I was very impressed by the attitude of the players. That will continue and give us time”
More to Read: PFF Announces Probables for FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier Round 2
Squad Announced for FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers R2:
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) named a final squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier Round 2 matches. The encounters are scheduled to be held on 16th November against Saudi Arabia in Saudi Arabia followed by a home leg against Tajikistan on 21st November at Jinnah Stadium, Islamabad.
Squad for FIFA World Cup 2026 Round 2:
Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt, Salman Ul Haq and Hassan Ali.
Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal, Haseeb Khan, Mamoon Moosa Khan, Mohibullah, Muhammad Sohail, Muhammad Saddam, Junaid Shah, Rao Umar Hayat and Muhammad Hamza Munir.
Midfielders: Rahis Nabi, Alamgir Ghazi, Rajab Ali, Ali Uzair, Imran Kiyani and Harun Hamid.
Forwards: Shayak Dost, Otis Khan, Fareed Ullah, Abdul Samad Arshad, Muhammad Waleed Khan and Adeel Younas.
Team Officials: Stephen Constantine (Head Coach), Rogerio Ramos (Goal Keeper Coach), Claudio Altieri (Performance Coach), Muhammad Ali Khan (Manager), Azam Khan (Doctor), Muhammad Abdullah (Physio), Haider Ali (Media) and Abdul Qayyum (Masseur).
Also Read: Imran Kayani: The British Asian Football Sensation Joining Pakistan’s FIFA Qualifier Journey
