AFC U23 Championship qualifiers: We showed great character, says Mansoor

National striker hails team’s effort even though they lost two out of three matches .

KARACHI: Pakistan may have experienced a bad run at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2016 U23 Championship qualifiers, but striker Mansoor Khan is satisfied with the campaign as the team finally managed to register a consolation win in the final match.

The 19-year-old had his moment as he scored a goal in the last match of the tournament in Group B against Kyrgyzstan, which Pakistan won 3-1. The men in green had earlier lost to Jordan 5-0 in the first match and then to Kuwait 2-0 in their second outing at the Al-Qattara Stadium in Al-Ain.



Despite the team’s disappointing run, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa-based athlete feels that the players were eager to end the tournament with some dignity after heavy criticism followed the first two matches.

“I scored my first at the U23 Championship, so it’s great,” Mansoor told The Express Tribune as the team returned from UAE on Thursday night. “There were good moments too, not all of it was bad.

“We showed what we are made of in the last match. Just getting on the field after two heavy defeats isn’t easy for any team, but we showed that we have character.”

Meanwhile, Mansoor hailed head coach Mohammed Shamlan’s influence in training and added that the players really want Shamlan to continue his work with Pakistan and extend his contract with the Pakistan Football Federation.

“It was Shamlan who told us that we needed to win and bow out respectably. Those were the most important words towards the end of the tournament. All of us want him to stay and extend his contract,” said Mansoor.

He said that on a more personal level, he wanted to prove himself to Shamlan too as the PAF striker was called off in the first match during the first-half against Jordan, and did not feature against Kuwait.

“I was just itching for a chance and kept praying that Shamlan would send me on the field. I scored my goal on a free kick, and it was one of the greatest moments for me,” said Mansoor.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd,  2015.

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