Days before Pakistan plays home and away fixtures against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Tuesday announced the names of the final men’s squad for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the two teams.
In round 2 of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Pakistan will face Saudi Arabia at Islamabad’s Jinnah Football Stadium on June 6. The encounter comes months after Saudi Arabia beat Pakistan 4-0 in the first leg of the qualifying matches when the Group G sides faced off at Al Ahsa city in November 2023.
Pakistan suffered another setback in round one of the qualifiers when they lost 6-1 to Tajikistan in Islamabad days after losing to Saudi Arabia. The green shirts will face Tajikistan on June 11 in Dushanbe in what will be their final round 2 away fixture. The South Asian country are in Group G of the World Cup qualifiers with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tajikistan.
Presenting our final 24-man squad for Pakistan vs Saudi Arabia! 🤩#pakistanfootball #dilsayfootball #shaheens #worldcupqualifiers pic.twitter.com/qwRxFBlhGN
— Pakistan Football Federation (@TheRealPFF) June 4, 2024
The PFF said in a statement, “The PFF has named the final national men’s squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier Round 2 matches against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan.”
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt (D), Saqib Hanif and Hassan Ali
Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal (D), Mohammad Fazal (D), Haseeb Khan, Rao Omer Hayat, Mamoon Moosa, Mohammad Saddam, Waqar Ihtisham, Moin Ahmed and Abdul Rehman
Midfielders: Rahis Nabi (D), Otis Khan (D), Ali Uzair, Umair Ali, Toqeer ul Hassan, Alamgir Ghazi and Ali Zafar
Forwards: Imran Kayani (D), McKeal Abdulah, Fareedulah, Adeel Younas and Shayak Dost
In the second round of the qualifiers, a total of 36 football squads have been split into nine groups with four teams each. The winners and runners-up from each group would go through to the third round.
Fans can buy tickets for Pakistan’s match against Saudi Arabia on Bookme.pk.
