Pakistan unveil squad for ASEAN Cup
Head coach Nolberto Solano to join team in Indonesia due to visa issues
Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) jabe announced a 23-member squad for the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup being held in Indonesia from September 25 to October 5.
The squad brings together players travelling from Pakistan as well as members of the national team based abroad.
Head coach Nolberto Solano will lead the Shaheens as they compete in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, which brings together teams from across the ASEAN region.
The lot comprises a major proportion of foreign-based players.
This correspondent understands that Nolberto will join the team in Indonesia as he did not get his Pakistani visa after he applied under a wrong category.
The PFF said that ASEAN Cup 2026 will provide Pakistan with an opportunity to compete on a new international platform and further strengthen its preparations against teams from the ASEAN region.
Pakistan have been drawn in Group B alongside Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, while hosts Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Bangladesh make up Group A.
Pakistan will open their campaign against Thailand on September 26 at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung before facing the Philippines on September 29 and Vietnam on October 2.
The top team from each group will advance to the final on October 5 at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, while the runners-up will meet in the third-place playoff at the same venue earlier that day.
Meanwhile Adeel Rizki, who is also the PFF Director Technical, is also going with the squad as assistant coach. A Director Technical can only serve in coaching capacity if there is coaches crisis and in that case a relevant federation also assigns the Director Technical to go with the team. But Pakistan is filled with abundance of qualified coaches and they were available.
Squad: Yousuf Butt, Hassan Ali, Saqib Hanif, Abdullah Shah, Abdul Rahman, Ali Khan Niazi, Ali Agha, Hayyan Khattak, Ali Uzair, Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Raza, Abdul Samad Arshad, Kaleem Ullah, Shayek Dost, Abdullah Iqbal, Easah Suliman, Mohib Ullah, Mamoon Khan, Mohd Fazal, Haris Zeb, Umer Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Ali Khan
Officials: Nolberto Solano (head coach), Jorge Orlando Daniel Castaneira (fitness coach), Mohammad Bin Sohail (team doctor), Waleed Javed (assistant coach), Zahid Taj (goalkeeping coach), Abid Hussain (team official), Mohammad Asadullah (observer), Mohammad Saméer Ali (videographer), Shahzeb Ahmed Khan (manager), Adeel Rizki (assistant coach), Umaid Wasim (media officer), Abdul Qayyum (masseur), Jamil Ahmed Sarparah (team official), Mohammad Umair Aslam Malik (team official), Nazar Mohammad (observer)
