AB Copenhagen’s Nabil joins camp ahead of WCQ

KARACHI: Denmark-based experienced defender Nabil Aslam on Monday joined the Pakistan football team who are preparing in Lahore for the two-legged first round of the 2018 Russia World Cup qualifiers against Yemen next month.
The 30-year old former Danish Superliga player reached Punjab’s capital on Monday.
“Yes, Nabil reached here today and also attended the training session in the evening,” a senior official of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) told ‘The News’ from Lahore.
However, he said that it was not yet clear, whether the current Danish first division club AB Copenhagen utility player will be able to become part of Pakistan’s squad for the qualifiers.
“If he convinces coach Shamlan, he will become part of the team for the qualifiers. Let see what happens,” the official said.
Nabil seems to have impressed Shamlan with his initial touches but it would be seen whether he would further convince the former Bahraini defender with his caliber.
“He has a good height, his passing was fine and so was his attitude. We will be playing a practice game with a local club on Wednesday and I will check him further,” Shamlan told this correspondent.
“He seemed a bit tired due to travelling and it was raining in Lahore today. I will also ask him whether he will be able to gel with our players. It’s not easy for a new player to adjust himself in short time, know about the system and organisation a coach is working on. Let’s see what happens,” Shamlan said.
If included, Nabil, pairing up with former Fulham defender Zeeshan Rehman, will shore up Pakistan’s defense which also consists of the impeccable Mohammad Bilal.
Bilal displayed fine composure in the deep and played a key role in Pakistan’s 2-1 victory over Afghanistan in a friendly at Lahore on February 6.
Nabil played 98 matches for AC Horsens in his five year stint. He has played eight matches for his current side AB Copenhagen.
“I started football in Brondby EF. It’s the second biggest club in Denmark. Then later, I went to another club BK Frem. I was there for seven years, and then AC Horsens got me on a free transfer. Last year, I left AC Horsens to join AB Copenhagen for half a season,” Nabil told a web portal on Monday.
“In Denmark, when media talk about their national players, it makes them happy and proud. It is the same for me here. I am very proud to be a Pakistani football player and the fact that I am going to be representing my country,” he said.
“I played in the Danish Super Liga for five years. The difference is the physical strength, the 1st division is tougher, but the Superliga is more technical and you have to be clever to play there,” he said.
“The Danish cup finale was an excellent experience and although we did not win it, FC Copenhagen were league champions and thus, we ended up with a UEFA Europa League spot. In the Europa League, we played against a big team from Norway; Elfsborg. It was a 1-1 draw at home, but we beat them 3-2 in their stadium,” he said.
Nabil is not a new name for Pakistan football. He was interested to become part of Pakistan’s 2014 World Cup qualifiers squad but passport issue deprived him of the opportunity to make an international debut under coach Tariq Lutfi.
But this time it seems that Nabil will be able to make his debut under Shamlan, who is optimistic about Pakistan’s winning chances in the qualifiers against Yemen.
Yemen will host the first leg of the qualifiers in Doha on March 12, while the second leg will be staged at Punjab Stadium Lahore on March 17.