We need to rewrite our history, urges former skipper

Essa Khan believes Pakistan can beat Yemen on March 12 and progress

KARACHI: If history has anything to teach, Pakistan football has not learnt its lessons just yet. But despite the blotched past, former national captain Essa Khan is confident their 17-spot jump to 171 in world rankings may be beckoning a new beginning ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying round this month.

Essa represented the country from 2003 till 2009 during which he competed at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup qualifying rounds.

“It [the jump in rankings] is great news, it should boost Pakistan’s confidence before the big match against Yemen [on March 12],” Essa told The Express Tribune. “They are a tough side but we have the potential to take up their challenge and win this game.”

Pakistan have been participating in the qualifiers since 1989, hoping and praying to make amends after each failure, but the stars are yet to align in their favour. They have never, to this date, won a qualifier and progressed to the second round.

Back then, before the format changed, countries had to finish on top of their group to qualify for the World Cup. 1989-1997 was dismal for Pakistan to say the least. Each time the qualifiers came around, they lost all of their group matches to the likes of China, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Yemen among others.

It was in 2002 that the men in green were granted some reprieve — as small as it may have been. They managed to contain Sri Lanka in a 3-3 draw, but lost the remaining five matches.

2007 — which saw the format change to two-legged ties — is a time Essa still reminisces of, a time when Pakistan made a comeback in the second leg against Iraq after having lost to the then Asia Cup winners in the first by a massive 7-0 scoreline.

“That [goalless] draw was like a win for us as we came back from such a heavy defeat and our ranking shot up by 35 places,” he said.

But then came 2011, another story of Pakistan’s defeat despite having a good chance of beating Bangladesh in Dhaka. They lost the first leg 3-0 and played out a stalemate at home.

“Our history at the World Cup qualifiers needs to improve, it needs to be rewritten,” said Essa “Our players back then had been physically stronger and were individually better athletes, but failed to accomplish the target as a team. This time around, I’m hoping our youngsters can make a difference.”

Essa has banked his hopes on striker Hassan Bashir, based on his recent performances. The former skipper also believes that others, under coach Mohamed Shamlan’s guidance, can help change the country’s fortunes. “Shamlan knows the Pakistani culture well and he can help us win this time around.”

Former national goalkeeper Jaffar Khan, who appeared with the national squad in 2011 for the last World Cup’s qualifiers, says the youngsters in the squad need to work as a team to beat Yemen. “It’s the third time that we have a good chance at winning, the previous two being in 2002 and then 2011,” he said. “Yemen can be defeated if the young players can find the drive to succeed on the day of the match, although their inexperience may bring them down.”

Caption

LONG-TERM EFFORTS: Pakistan have been participating in the qualifiers since 1989, hoping and praying to make amends after each failure. PHOTO: SHAFIQ MALIK/EXPRESS