Green-shirts need to improve game: Kamran

KARACHI: Former captain Olympian Kamran Ashraf has said that after the defeat against Germany in the first match by 5-2, Pakistan has no choice but to win the next two matches keeping in mind the number of goals scored by strong teams.

Talking to ‘The News’ on Thursday, he said that the record for the biggest victory margin was set twice within hours as Argentina, Netherlands and Spain thrashed lower-ranked teams.

The first three matches on the second day of the competition produced 48 goals with Argentina setting the record for the win by the biggest margin before Spain rewrote it.

Argentina, who won the title in 2005, set the ball rolling with a 14-0 win against Egypt. The previous biggest win was in 1982 when India beat Singapore 13-0.

Netherlands handed South Korea a 12-5 thrashing to set the record for most goals in a match as both teams combined to produce 17 goals.

Spain thumped the United States 17-0 to set the record for the biggest win, also equalising the record for most goals scored in a match.

France beat defending champions India by 5-4.

Kamran, a former head coach of the junior team, said that Pakistan would have to not only win the match against Egypt but also win it with a big difference in order to qualify for quarter-finals.

Pakistan will play against Egypt on Saturday (tomorrow) and Argentina on Sunday.

Kamran said that Pakistan juniors were playing after a big gap of more than two years. “So a defeat against was nothing unexpected but the way Pakistan missed goal scoring chances was pathetic and should not be seen again,” he said.

Pakistan must also consolidate their defence, especially in the match against Argentina, he said.