Nogueira plans to induct new players gradually

KARACHI: In order to form a strong supporting lot Pakistan football team’s Brazilian coach Jose Antonio Nogueira on Tuesday said that slowly and gradually new talented players would be given chances in international circuit to ensure a bright future for the country.

“Yes, it is our plan to give chances to those players who have not got international exposure but are very much capable of playing at the international level,” Nogueira told ‘The News’ from his hometown São Paulo where he is spending time with his family. “It will help Pakistan in the long run,” he said.

This is his first leave trip to São Paulo since he took Pakistan’s charge early this year as head coach.Under his supervision Pakistan featured in the Asian Games in Indonesia and SAFF Championship in Dhaka this summer.

Pakistan finished third in the SAFF Cup, a performance which the country repeated after 21 years despite the fact that the national footballers had not played for three years because of legal disputes within the football fraternity in the country.

When asked whether he intends to include a few new faces in the team for the international friendly against Palestine, the coach responded: “Not many at the same time but one, two or maximum three.”

He was quick to add that he had included a couple of very young boys in the side in the Asian Games. “You would not believe that we had two players in the squad for the Asian Games 2018 who are born in 2000 and that bewildered everyone,” the coach recalled.

Nogueira will return to Lahore next week as he has to hold a camp for the game against Palestine which will be held on November 15 in Palestine. “The camp will begin from November 5 or 6,” Nogueira said.

He witnessed some part of the first round of the Premier League in Multan before going to São Paulo on leave.He intends to invite some foreign-based players for the Palestine match which will be held on FIFA day. “Some of the foreign-based players who were part of the team recently are being invited,” the coach said.

As the match against Palestine will be on FIFA Day so there will be no problems for the clubs abroad to release their players for their Pakistan duty.Top national players will be going to camp directly from Premier League which is being held these days at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore.

Nogueira wants to have at least three matches for the national brigade from November to the end of December. “We need to have at least three international friendlies in these months,” the coach said.

Besides managing a game against Palestine, Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is going to arrange another match on the FIFA days which fall from November 12-20. Qatar is one of the countries with which the PFF is negotiating, well-placed sources said.

Nogueira’s main targets are the Olympic Qualifiers and 2022 World Cup qualifiers which will be held next year.“Yes, these are my targets. We want to prepare well for the events,” the coach said.

The Olympic qualifiers, in which an under-22 team will be fielded, will be held in March 2019. The World Cup qualifiers will be held next summer.Pakistan will also be featuring in the South Asian Games which are pencilled in for March 9-18 in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

For the next year’s engagements the coach wants to have a proper camp in January. “We will start a camp in January. Keeping in view the available resources we will try our best to form strong sides for the next year’s assignments,” Nogueira said.