Captain urges football fans to watch Pak-Jordan clash

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan football team captain Easah Zaheer Suliman Tuesday urged local fans to turn up in large numbers to support the host nation against the powerful Jordan team during the World Cup qualifying round match scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) here at the Jinnah Stadium.

26-year-old Easah, who plays for Azerbaijan Premier Club as a center-back arrived here the other day to represent his native country against Jordan, said that crowd’s presence will help bring out the best from players.

“I will request the crowd to turn up in numbers and support the local team against the visiting Jordanian outfit. We need support from the local crowd to play our best game on the given day.”

Easah hoped that the crowd would take out time from the month of Ramazan. “I know well that it will not be easy for the crowd in the holy month to feel comfortable in a day game. Still I hope that fans will come out to support us.”

He added that he was excited to join the team the other day. “I am excited on my joining the team ahead of Tuesday’s training session.” The midfielder said he was coming out of club’s commitments so he was in a fine touch.

“The team has been training hard over the last few weeks. Even today we trained hard. Hopefully, the team will show a competitive element during the match against Jordan. I have been busy playing regular football.”

Another national player Umar Hayat also requested the crowd to witness the match as their presence would help the team put up a better show. “We know it is difficult for the general crowd to witness day game while fasting. Yet I request the crowd to take time out and watch the match.”

Meanwhile, Jordan team arrived in Islamabad through a chartered flight late Tuesday. Football fever gripped Jordan following their recent surge to the Asia Cup final for the very first time. Jordan defeated South Korea in the semi-final to make it to the final where the team was beaten by hosts Qatar.

Jordan team earlier was scheduled to land at the Islamabad Airport at around 8pm on Tuesday but later delayed their arrival by two hours. The visiting team is expected to train at the Jinnah Stadium today (Wednesday) before their World Cup match on Thursday.