THE way the national team has performed in Malaysia must have warmed the hearts of many. This is true till at least the time of writing these lines when Pakistan has already qualified for the final, with a match to spare. It is not a frequent happening and the team deserves a round of applause. The drawn game against Malaysia, however, must have dampened the spirits of the players as it dampened the spirits of those following the fortunes of the national team with keen interest.
But overall, the way things have gone thus far in the tournament, the final seems destined to be between Pakistan and Germany where the Germans will put in everything to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Pakistanis in the initial round.
If Pakistan could defend its title successfully, it will be a great morale booster ahead of some gruelling assignments that await the team in the near future. The good thing is that the team certainly has the potential to do it, but will it be able to manage the German backlash, is something that we will see on Sunday.
However, any hope for the Pakistanis to be able to do that will fizzle out in a hurry if they are unable to rectify the mistakes that have been committed in the round matches. This, of course, is not by way of criticism, for the team has certainly managed to take care of the final scoreline and that is often considered good enough. Nothing succeeds like success, they say. And I tend to agree with that.
Some of the flaws that were quite noticeable in the round matches will have to be rectified before the final for the team to ensure a successful defence of its title. For instance, the problem with the team’s defence line has lingered on. The match against South Korea was a case in point when the team conceded a large number of penalty corners, nine of them, if I am not wrong. That the South Koreans failed to make the most of this windfall went in our favour, but the defence clearly stood exposed.
The forward line, on its part, struggled to click, as it should have. There was lack of rhythm and combined movement. But the most worrying factor was its low strike ratio and a high missing ratio. Talking of goal-scoring, it was ironic that in any particular match the goals were scored either by the forwards or by the team’s penalty corner specialist, but the two components hardly ever worked in tandem to maximize the team’s chances.
That the team actually won four of its first five matches in the round, however, did not come as a surprise, as even before the tournament it was known that some of the teams would be playing below their full strength. India, we all know, has sent a second string, but even Australia and South Korea are trying out new faces to increase their resource pool for the coming Olympics. The win against Germany, however, was heartening because both the sides in that key match were at full strength.
There may be people who would be wondering how could I possibly find so much wrong with a team that actually won four matches on the trot. In fact, these lines will appear in print on the day of the final, and if Pakistan does lift the trophy, which I hope and pray that it does, people may find fault with the write-up rather than with the team.
All I wish to point out, though, is that results vary from tournament to tournament. We have to keep an eye on the tasks ahead, and be honest to ourselves. Flaws have to be removed to be able to generate and sustain the momentum. And pointing out flaws is the first step towards removing them, right?
THE way the national team has performed in Malaysia must have warmed the hearts of many. This is true till at least the time of writing these lines when Pakistan has already qualified for the final, with a match to spare. It is not a frequent happening and the team deserves a round of applause. The drawn game against Malaysia, however, must have dampened the spirits of the players as it dampened the spirits of those following the fortunes of the national team with keen interest.
