Pakistan’s men’s football team will play their first-ever FIFA-sanctioned tournament match today, facing higher-ranked Thailand in the opening round of the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup.
The Group B, Division One match will kick off at 2:00pm (Pakistan Standard Time) at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, Indonesia. Pakistan will then play the Philippines on September 29 before facing Vietnam on October 2 in Jakarta.
Pakistan qualified for the tournament as one of three guest nations invited to compete alongside the 11 member associations of the ASEAN football confederation. Bangladesh and Hong Kong China are the other two guest teams taking part.
The tournament features 14 teams in total, with Division One being staged in Indonesia across eight teams split into two groups. Group winners will advance to the final, while the runners-up will meet in a third-place match.
Pakistan enter the competition ranked 198th in the latest FIFA rankings, well below all three group opponents. Thailand are ranked 94th, Vietnam 113th, and the Philippines 135th.
Thailand’s squad for the tournament includes playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin, Japan-based midfielder Supachok Sarachat, and English-born forward Jude Soonsup-Bell, along with German-based defender Nicholas Mickelson. The side is coached by Englishman Anthony Hudson and also includes domestic players Supachai Chaided of Buriram United and Peeradon Chamratsamee of Port FC.
Pakistan head coach Nolberto Solano has named a 23-man squad combining domestic players with several based abroad. Captain Abdullah Iqbal will lead the side, with experienced forward Kaleemullah also included in the squad.
Defender Easah Suliman, who plays abroad, joined the squad in Bandung after his arrival was delayed by illness, having missed the initial assembly of 22 players in Indonesia. Teenage midfielder Abdul Samad, captain of the national Under-17 team, is also part of the squad after recently signing a two-year contract with Azerbaijani champions Qarabag.
Pakistan’s participation in the ASEAN Cup follows a strong run of form over the summer, when Solano’s side won the Diamond Jubilee International Football Tournament in the Maldives without losing a match. Pakistan drew 0-0 with Bangladesh before beating the Maldives 3-0 and Afghanistan 2-0 in the round-robin stage, then defeated Afghanistan 2-0 again in the final to win the title.
The victory marked Pakistan’s first standalone international tournament title in decades. Their previous appearance in a standalone tournament final had come at the 1962 Merdeka Cup, while their last tournament win before the Maldives success had been a shared title at the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.
Pakistan joined FIFA in 1948 but had never previously taken part in a FIFA-organized tournament outside of World Cup and continental qualifying rounds.
