Under-prepared Pakistan faces Syria in Asian Cup Qualifiers tomorrow

Having failed to win any game in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers second round, Pakistan football team will now begin their Asian Cup Qualifiers Group E journey with the match against Syria at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday (tomorrow).

Pakistan is under-prepared for the match since FIFA’s ban denied the authorities the chance to hold a training camp in time. Pakistan hardly trained for a week in Lahore and that, too, without head coach Stephen Constantine who hails from England.

The teams flew to Al-Ahsa on March 20 and they hardly got four days for a workout together as foreign-based players and Stephen also joined them in Al-Ahsa.

A Pakistan football team official told Nukta that a few productive training sessions in Al-Ahsa under Stephen have been conducted.

“All foreign players have also arrived and training sessions have also been conducted well. There is no injury to anyone and the team is ready for the Syria clash,” the official told this correspondent from Al-Ahsa.

“But the thing is that had we got some more time for training under Stephen it could have definitely benefitted us a lot before Syria clash. But I’m still hopeful the team will bring in good result,” the official added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former Serbian coach Zavisa Milosavljevic also highlighted various issues which have been obstructing Pakistan’s growth as a team.

“The fact is that without a national league there is no continuity in creating a strong national team,” Zavisa told Nukta.

“Lack of international matches and the team’s consistency cannot guarantee the desired result. However, I can say that Pakistan national team is not without a chance. They showed that in the past qualifiers and that gives hope for a positive result against Syria,” he added.

Zavisa also pointed out the key factor of foreign players’ late joining which always denies the team to constitute a strong chemistry.

“It is difficult to integrate and tactically and physically prepare a team with only foreign players. They are not always able to come to camp and train together for a longer period of time,” Zavisa said.

“Of-course in my opinion Syria are favorites in this match but they are also facing many problems in their country. Any way let’s wait for the start of the match and wait for the positive result from Pakistan team,” he added.

Experienced UK-born center-back Easah Suliman, who has also led Pakistan, is not part of the side due to injury. His participation in the June 10 match against Myanmar is also in doubt.

He was part of the initial list but later his name was removed due to his fitness issues.

“I ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament one week before the start of the season. I am not sure if I will be ready for June game. I hope so inshaAllah,” Easah told Nukta.

Easah plays for Sumgayit FC in the Azerbaijan Premier League.

Pakistan, in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group G qualifiers second round, lost all of their six matches with heavy margin against opponents Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Jordan to finish at the rock-bottom.

Syria, on the other hand, won two of their six games they played in their Group B. Syria’s victories came against North Korea (1-0) and Myanmar (7-0). However, they lost to Japan twice with identical scoreline of 5-0, went down to North Korea 1-0 and held Myanmar to a 1-1 draw to finish third in their pool with seven points.

Myanmar and Afghanistan are the other teams in Pakistan’s group. One team will progress to the Asian Cup from the pool.

After meeting Syria in Al-Ahsa Pakistan will host Myanmar on June 10 at the Jinnah Stadium Islamabad. It will be followed by their game against Afghanistan on October 9 at Islamabad.

On October 9 Pakistan will host Afghanistan, on October 14 Afghanistan will host Pakistan while on November 18 Pakistan will host Syria. On March 31, 2026, Myanmar will host Pakistan at Thuwunna Stadium Yangon.

Pakistan Squad:

Goal-Keepers: Yousuf Butt, Saqib Hanif, Abdul Basit, Adam Khan; Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal, Haseeb Khan, Junaid Shah, Mamoon Moosa, Mohammad Fazal, Abdul Rehman, Waqar Ihtisam; Midfielders: Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Uzair, Ali Zafar, Muhammad Umar Hayat, Rahis Nabi, Toqeer-ul-Hassan, Umair Ali, Moin Ahmed; Forwards: Fareedullah, Harun Hamid, Imran Kayani, Mckeal Abdullah, Abdul Samad, Shayak Dost, Muhammad Adeel Younas