Eight changes in Pak team for match against Jordan

ISLAMABAD: As the Pakistan football team arrived in Islamabad Sunday evening to play the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Round match against Jordan at the Jinnah Stadium on March 21, the finalised team saw eight changes from the one that played against Tajikistan on November 21, 2023.

The announced team will be the same for the returned match against Jordan on 26th. Otis Khan has already been declared unfit to play against Jordan as he has some injury issues.

Two European leading club players Atizaz Hussain and Adil Nabi who have been cleared to play for Pakistan will not be there for the match against Jordan. It is believed that they have set some conditions which were not fulfilled. The eight players who have been left out of the team to accommodate overseas players include Junaid Shah, Moin, Mohammad Waheed, Ali Zafar, Salman Kaka, Hamza Munir, Zaid Umar and Kamal Marwat. Former Pakistan captain Saddam who plays in Oman and Abdullah Shah who is one of the recognized Asian players are already out of favour.

Pak squad for back-to-back matches: Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt (D), Saqib Hanif, Abdul Basit and Hassan Ali. Defenders: Easah Suliman (D), Abdullah Iqbal (D), Mamoon Musa, Haseeb Khan, Muhammad Saddam, Mohammad Sohail, Omer Rao, Muhammad Fazal (D) and Mohammad Adeel.