KARACHI: The Pakistan men’s football team will mark its long-awaited international return next month with friendly matches away in Nepal, the Pakistan Football Federation Norma­lisation Committee announced Thursday.

Pakistan last played in June 2019 when they lost to Cambodia in the first round of the qualifiers for this year’s FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in Qatar in November.

The friendlies with Nepal are aimed at tuning up the side for the first round of qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which are slated to be held in October next year.

“The matches will be held in the week between November 13 to 20,” NC member Shahid Khokhar told Dawn. “Two matches are confirmed for now and if there is more time, there is a possibility of playing one more game.”

Since Pakistan’s loss to Cambodia, the national team has missed out on action due to an institutional crisis in the PFF.

Although global football body FIFA installed a Normalisation Committee in September 2019, things have only settled down in June this year after a 15-month suspension.

The NC has been quick in getting the team back up and selected 36 players — albeit with some glaring omissions amid accusations of favoritism — who have been part of a six-week training camp in Lahore.

Former PFF technical director Shehzad Anwar has been named the head coach and the NC has hired the services of Brazilians Rodrigo Esteves and Marcelo Costa as physical trainer and goalkeeping coach respectively.

Pakistan won their last meeting with South Asian rivals Nepal 2-1 during the 2018 SAFF Championship.

The men’s tour comes after the national women’s team ended its eight-year long hiatus from international football at the SAFF Women’s Championship in Nepal in September.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2022