SAFF Championship 2023 Rival Watch: Pakistan

India will play Pakistan on 21 June.

Soon after the conclusion of the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup, India will swiftly shift their focus to Bangalore to partake in the SAFF Championship 2023. This is the first time in eight years that the competition is being held in India, with all South Asian Football Federation teams taking part.

The Blue Tigers are set to face rivals Pakistan in the group stages. Indeed, the Pakistani Falcons are set to take part in the tournament after clearing out certain issues regarding their arrival to India. Even though they might be way behind India in FIFA rankings, they’ll be determined to pop a few surprises and play with utmost motivation at breaking their most-bitter rivals. With that being said, let’s look at what to expect from Pakistan.

Recent Performances

Pakistan decided to participate in the Mauritius 4-Nations Cup as a part of preparations for the SAFF Championship, but things have been rocky for them so far in 2023. They’ve lost all three of their games in the competition to Mauritius, Kenya and Djibouti, scoring just a goal.

They also suffered a loss to the Maldives in an international friendly earlier this year back in March too and are currently on an nine-match losing streak in international games – having last won a competitive fixture back in 8 September 2018 against Bhutan.

About the Team

In 1948, they became a member of FIFA and their national team officially made their debut in an international fixture in 1950, suffering a loss at the hands of Iran.

Over the decades, the development of the Pakistan national football team has been painfully slow – a far-cry from their national cricket team. Their highest-recorded FIFA ranking was 141, way back in 1993. Pakistan have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup or even an AFC Asian Cup.

The Falcons have had a decent history in the SAFF Championship. Even though they’ve never won it, they did secure a third-place finish in 1997 and reached the semi-finals on four occasions. They’ve been champions of the South Asian Games twice and won the Colombo Cup once too.

The Coach

Shahzad Anwar was never able to gain much popularity as a footballer, but he’s actually gained quite a lot of experience in his coaching career. The 45-year-old started his coaching career at the age of 19 in 1997, when he started coaching a local school at Sargodha before securing a coaching license from the Pakistan Football Federation.

He kept working as a coach in the Pakistan football scene at different age groups and clubs, before securing the job of a caretaker manager for Pakistan in 2008 for a short period. Anwar returned for a caretaker manager role for the 2013 SAFF Championship – which saw him oversee the Pakistani Falcons to a fighting effort in which they won a game and drew another before unlucky exiting from the group stages.

Anwar went on to act as PFF’s Technical Director in 2015 for a short period, before becoming the first-ever Pakistani coach to secure an AFC-Pro coaching license in 2017 – thanks to a six-month internship at Brazilian side Nacional Atletico Club.

He took over the Pakistan national team again in 2022 and has been overseeing them since the loss to Nepal in November. Anwar is yet to guide them to a win since taking over, but has brought much discipline to his side as well as attracted foreign players of Pakistani origin.  

Players to Watch

Otis Khan

A graduate of the Manchester United youth academy, Otis Khan has spent his entire football career in England. He’s played for the likes of Sheffield United, Barnsley, Yeovil Town and currently plays for EFL League Two side Grimsby Town. The left-winger is coming at the back of a pretty solid campaign for them, having scored six goals and provided two assists in 39 games – including two in the FA Cup!

Khan is a clinical scorer, blessed with impressive finishing ability and a tendency to get at the end of the chances. He can outwit defenders with his tricky style and is adept at delivering menacing crosses from wide areas. The 27-year-old will aim to use his experience to trouble opponents in the SAFF Championship and be a major source of goals for the Falcons.

Abdul Samad Arshad

The Denmark-born Pakistan international was only recently granted his Pakistani citizenship so that he could play for the national side. Arshad spent his youth career at Boldklubben 93 and made his professional debut for them before joining top-division Danish side HB Koge. The 22-year-old made 15 appearances for them last season, scoring three goals.

He can operate anywhere across the frontline, but thrives in a left-wing role. Arshad is blessed with pace and a variation of skill that allows him to torment defenders. He still needs to brush up his final product, but the exciting wingers can brighten things up for the Pakistani Falcons and is a daunting figure in counter-attacks.

Easah Suliman

Suliman actually represented England across the various youth levels before only recently agreeing to play for Pakistan thanks to his British Pakistani heritage. A product of the Aston Villa youth academy, the 25-year-old is a versatile defender who can play in the centre of defence as well as a defensive midfielder. He’s currently  at Portuguese club Vitoria de Guimaraes, but was loaned to Portugal second-division side Vilafranquense.

The 25-year-old is a commanding figure at the back, who can read the game well and loves to get physical whenever needed. Even though he has little experience of playing for Pakistan or in Asia, the 25-year-old is at least blessed with the knowledge of playing the game in the most competitive environments. He’ll need to be at his absolute best to save Pakistan from embarrassment in the SAFF Championship and prove why the PFF were so keen to get him enrolled into the national team with some dominant performances.

What to Expect

Going by how their recent form has been, it’ll be a major surprise if Pakistan is able to actually make it deep into the SAFF Championship. They’ve been placed in a tricky group against India and Kuwait, both of whom are in much better shape than them right now. This Pakistan team is still one in progress after the inclusion of the new foreign-born players into their squad. However, on their day, they can upset any side.

They have several exciting players who can create a few shocks, but their lack of cohesion as one strong unit could hurt in the SAFF Championship. Unless they’re able to produce something really out-of-the-box, a group-stage elimination seems the likeliest possibility for Pakistan.