Pakistan embark on Asian Cup quest with Syria clash

AL AHSA (Saudi Arabia): When Stephen Constantine was appointed Pakistan’s head coach almost 18 months ago, he was clear in his mind that the target for his side should be realistically aiming to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

A historic victory over Cambodia paved the way for Pakistan’s place in the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers for the first time with Constantine and his charges opening their campaign in Group ‘E’ against much-fancied Syria on Tuesday.

The group winner gets a spot at the tournament in Saudi Arabia with Myanmar and Afghanistan the other teams in the section.

Pakistan face a tall order if they are to qualify for the Asian Cup and there has been little change to the dynamics of the sport in the country since Constantine first arrived.

The Englishman had pleaded for a domestic league to begin in order to provide local players regular competition but once again, he will have players who have had little action on the pitch apart from training sessions with the foreign-based players arriving to bolster the squad.

The team lost all its six matches in the second round of qualifying, which merged with the preliminaries for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and now face a side which has qualified for the last two editions of the Asian Cup.

Syria reached the knockout stages of the last edition of the Asian Cup in 2023 and have an imposing forward line boosting Omar Khribin, the 2017 AFC Asian Players of the Year, and Omar Al Soma.

While Syria are hosting their home games on neutral venues, Pakistan have had experience of playing at the Prince Abdullah Bin Jalwai Stadium, where they lost 4-0 to Saudi Arabia in the second round of qualifying in November 2023.

Pakistan will start as underdogs against Syria but in Constantine, they have a tactician in the dugout who has the nous to get a result for his side.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025

from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/iONmqTl

Comments

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...

In pictures: Grief in Gaza and the loss of a child

In the photo, the woman cradles a child in her arms, balanced on her knee. It is an image that resonates, as ancient as human history. But in a grim inversion of the familiar, we see that the child she holds close is a corpse, wrapped in a shroud. It is a quiet moment of intense grief. The woman wears a headscarf and her head is bowed. We cannot see who she is nor can we learn anything about the child — not even if it is a boy or girl. Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. The child is one of many who have lost their lives on both sides in the Israel-Hamas war. Most have names we will never know, whose deaths will spark a lifetime of grief for family members we will never meet. In the 21st century, an average of almost 20 children a day have been killed or maimed in wars around the world, according to Unicef. Reuter...

Infinity Social Updates

Search This Blog