ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Arabia football team landed here on Wednesday ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers match against Pakistan, scheduled to be played at the Jinnah Stadium on June 6.
The Saudi Arabian team was warmly welcomed by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) officials as well as KSA ambassador Nawaf Bin-Said Al-Malki at Islamabad International Airport.
The visiting team reached here on a chartered flight, accompanied by renowned manager Roberto Mancini and assistant coach Yaya Toure.
Notably, PFF named a 24-member squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers clash against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
The national team will have the services of former Manchester United youngster and Grimsby Town attacking midfielder Otis Khan, who will lead the team’s attack that features Mckael Abdullah, Imran Kayani, Fareed Ullah, Shayek Dost and Adeel Younas.
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Notably, the captain and lead defender Easah Suliman was not named in the Pakistan squad as he is planning to perform Hajj.
Besides him, goalkeeper Adam Khan, who participated in the national team’s training camp, also failed to make a cut.
For the unversed, Pakistan are at the bottom of Group G as they lost all four matches in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
Pakistan had an unwanted start to their second-round campaign as they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat against Saudi Arabia in November, followed by a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Tajikistan at Islamabad in the same month.
The national football team then lost to Jordan 3-0 in the home leg of the qualifiers at Jinnah Stadium before they were humbled 7-0 at the Amman International Stadium.
After Saudi Arabia, Pakistan next face Tajikistan in their final group match in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
READ: Pakistan’s sports icons show support for national team’s T20 World Cup campaign