Pakistan go down against Nepal in friendly

PESHAWAR: Pakistan went 0-1 down to Nepal in the one-off football friendly in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Anjan Bista struck the lone goal in the 83rd minute.

Former Pakistan assistant coach Nasir Ismail said the team did not play positive game. “There was zero possession of the ball and no aggression was shown by the Pakistani team,” Nasir told 'The News'.

He said that the foreign players' presence disturbed the combination. “I have strong reservations over the direct inclusion of foreign players in the side. They should have been invited to the camp 15 days before the game and their conditioning should have been checked. I think they were not in proper shape and they needed tough training with the squad,” Nasir said.

“Skipper Hasan Bashir had only seven to eight touches in the entire 90 minutes game. Waheed and Afzal were not given chance while goalie Yousuf Butt was tested once and it went into the net. He should have punched it while moving forward a few steps,” Nasir said.

“It was the most well-facilitated camp for around seven weeks with three star accommodation given to the players. But we did not make any effort to return to international circuit in an impressive way. We still back the team but head coach Shahzad Anwar will need to take bold decisions and to give opportunities to the most deserving players,” Nasir said.