Pakistan national football team

Pakistan

Nickname(s)	Green Shirts Pak Shaheens
Association	Pakistan Football Federation
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Mohammed Shamlan
Captain	Zesh Rehman
Home stadium	Punjab Stadium
FIFA code	PAK
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	168 +2
Highest	141 (February 1994)
Lowest	192 (May 2001)
First international
Iran 5–1 Pakistan (Tehran, Iran; October 27, 1950)
Biggest win
Pakistan 7–0 Thailand (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; August 5, 1960) Pakistan 9–2 Guam (Taipei, Chinese Taipei; April 6, 2008) Pakistan 7–0 Bhutan (Dhaka, Bangladesh; December 8, 2009)
Biggest defeat
Iran 9–1 Pakistan (Tehran, Iran; March 12, 1966) Iran 9–1 Pakistan (Tehran, Iran; March 12, 1969) Iraq 8–0 Pakistan (Irbid, Jordan; May 28, 1993)
Medal record Men’s Football South Asian Games 1987 Calcutta Team 1989 Islamabad Team 1991 Colombo Team 2004 Islamabad Team 2006 Colombo Team

The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan in association football and is controlled by Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), the governing body for football in Pakistan and is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The team has not yet qualified for either the FIFA World Cup or Asian Cup championships. Twice they have finished third in the South Asian Football Federation Cup. They also were Merdeka Cup runners up in 1962 and twice finished second in the Quaid-i-Azam Tournament. However, in the first decade of the 21st century the Pakistani government and the PFF have invested more into football. A new football league was launched, and investment from FIFA’s Goal Project to improve the infrastructure within Pakistan have helped. One of the venues of the national football team is 48,800 capacity Jinnah Sports Stadium.

History

Pakistan lost their first international 5–1 away to Iran on January 6, 1950. Two years later they entered the Colombo Cup in Ceylon, and were held to goalless draw in the first match against India. They then beat hosts Ceylon 2–0 and a 1–0 win in their final match against Burma made them joint champions with India.

Pakistan then hosted Iran in April and drew 0–0. The following year Pakistan were runners-up in the Colombo Cup, having achieved a 6–0 win against Ceylon in Rangoon. In 1954, after again becoming runners up in the Colombo Cup, Pakistan defeated Singapore 6–2 in the Asian Games; this followed a 2–1 loss to Burma. In the final edition of the Colombo Cup, the Greenshirts came second for the third year in a row to India. Pakistan failed to progress in the 1958 Asian Games after being defeated by Chinese Taipei 3–1 and a 1–1 draw to South Vietnam.

In 1959, they failed to qualify for the Asian Cup, after a 4–1 loss by Iran, 1–0 defeat to India and 2–0 loss to Israel. However, Pakistan earned their first win against India when they defeated them 1–0, and were able to reverse the score in the second match against Iran with a 4–1 victory and held Israel to a 2–2 draw.

Several months later, the Greenshirts travelled to Malaya for the Merdeka Cup. They started by beating Thailand 7–0, which still shares the Pakistani record. It was followed by a 1–0 loss to the hosts Malaya, then a 3–1 victory over Japan and finally a 4–0 defeat to Indonesia. Pakistan returned to the Merdeka Cup two years later and this time reached the final against Indonesia, but succumbed to 2–1 defeat.

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 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 War, East 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.

In the King's Cup in 1982, Pakistan secured a goalless draw against Indonesia, the Greenshirts 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 Iran, Bangladesh, Oman and Nepal in 1982. The Greenshirts 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 Greenshirts hosted another tournament in 1985, this time inviting North Korea, Indonesia, Bangladesh 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 Greenshirts bounced back, when several months later they took Gold at the South Asian Games, beating Bangladesh 1–0 in the final.

The Greenshirts 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 Greenshirts 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 Greenshirts 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 the Greenshirts 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 saw changes in Pakistan football, with at 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 signaled 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 Ahmed, Shabir Khan, Amjad Iqbal, Atif 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 trounced Bhutan 7-0 in their last game, but it was all for nothing, as the best team in the tournament according to the locals exited even before the semi-finals.

After Kottan’s sacking 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. The Green Kickers 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.

Pakistan then played the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification in Bishkek, losing out 1-0 to Tajikistan in injury-time.Kyrgyzstan also won 1-0 against the Pak Shaheens 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 horrendous own-goal from Samar Ishaq. Against hosts Nepal , Hassan 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.

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2013 Philippine Peace Cup.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
22	1GK	Muzammil Hussain	(1994-09-06) 6 September 1994	1	0	WAPDA F.C.
12	1GK	Saqib Hanif	(1994-04-28) 28 April 1994	2	0	KRL F.C.
18	1GK	Yousuf Butt	(1989-10-18) 18 October 1989	9	0	BGA
13	2DF	Ahsanullah	(1992-12-13) 13 December 1992	4	0	KRL FC
3	2DF	Mohammad Ahmed	(1988-01-03) 3 January 1988	12	0	WAPDA F.C.
14	2DF	Hameed Khan	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990	1	0	WAPDA F.C.
30	2DF	Sufyan Asif	(1994-09-03) 3 September 1994	1	0	Lyallpur F.C.
20	2DF	Rizwan Asif	(1990-01-08) 8 January 1990	9	0	KRL F.C.
23	2DF	Faisal Iqbal	(1992-04-08) 8 April 1992	18	0	NBP F.C.
25	2DF	Zesh Rehman(c)	(1983-10-14) 14 October 1983	16	1	Kitchee SC
21	3MF	Muhammad Adil	(1992-07-09) 9 July 1992	19	0	KRL F.C.
16	3MF	Mehmood Khan	(1991-06-10) 10 June 1991	4	0	KRL F.C.
27	3MF	Mohammad Bilal	(1993-12-21) 21 December 1993	2	0	Navy F.C.
28	3MF	Zainullah	(1991-12-25) 25 December 1991	2	0	WAPDA F.C.
17	3MF	Bilalwal-ur-Rehman	(1993-10-04) 4 October 1993	2	0	KRL F.C.
29	3MF	Saddam Hussain	(1990-02-04) 4 February 1990	8	0	KRL F.C.
11	4FW	Hassan Bashir	(1987-01-07) 7 January 1987	13	3	Nordvest FC
10	4FW	Kalim Ullah	(1992-08-09) 9 August 1992	23	3	KRL F.C.
38	4FW	Muhammad Ali	(1987-01-07) 7 January 1987	8	0	BK Avarta

Coaches

Pakistan coaching staff in front of PFF house

Coaching staff

Head Coach	Mohammad Al-Shamlan
Assistant Coach	Shahzad Anwar
Goalkeeping Coach	Aslam Khan
Team Doctor & Physiotherapist	Dr. Kamran Mehdi

Match record

Official A-team matches only

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Honours
Burkhard Ziese	September 1987 – October 1990	17	4	2	11
Coaching committees from 1990 to 2000
Dave Burns	January 2000 – March 2001	4	0	0	4
John Layton	March 2001 – January 2002	6	0	1	5
Joseph Herel	January 2002 – March 2003	11	4	2	5
Tariq Lutfi	November 2003 – October 2005	5	2	1	3
Salman Sharida	November 2005 – August 2007	16	3	3	10
Akhtar Mohiuddin	September 2007 – September 2008	10	3	1	5
Shahzad Anwar	October 2008	1	0	0	1
George Kottan	February 2009 – February 2010	6	2	3	1
Tariq Lutfi	March 2011 – November 2011	9	1	3	5
Zaviša Milosavljević	November 2011– August 2013	12	3	4	5
Shahzad Anwar	September 2013	3	1	1	1
Mohammad Al-Shamlan	September 2013 –	2	1	0	1

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record

• 1930 to 1938 – Non-FIFA member
• 1950 to 1986 – Did not enter
• 1990 to 2014 – Did not qualify

Asian Cup record

1956 – Withdrew 1960 – Did not qualify 1964 – Withdrew 1968 – Did not qualify

1972 – Did not qualify 1976 – Withdrew 1980 – Did not enter 1984 to 2015 – Did not qualify

AFC Challenge Cup record

• 2006 – Round 1
• 2008 to 2014 – Did not qualify

South Asian Football Federation Cup record

1993 – Fourth Place 1995 – Round 1 1997 – Third Place 1999 – Round 1 2003 – Fourth Place

2005 – Semi-finals 2008 – Group Stage 2009 – Group Stage 2011 – Group Stage 2013 – Group Stage

RCD Cup/ECO Cup record

Year	Round
1965	Third Place
1967	Third Place
1969	Third Place
1970	Third Place
1974	Third Place
1993	Group Stage

Merdeka Cup record

Year	Round
1960	Fourth Place
1962	Runners-Up
1984	Group Stage

King’s Cup record

Year	Round
1981	Group Stage

Colombo Cup record

Year	Round
1952	(Joint) Champions
1953	Runners-Up
1954	Runners-Up
1955	Runners-Up

Peace Cup record

Year	Round
2013	Runners-Up

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See also

• Pakistan national football team results
• Pakistan Football Federation

External links

• Pakistani Football Association website
• FootballPakistan.Com (FPDC)
• DefendPakistan.PK