KARACHI: Nearly three years after leading the line for Pakistan in their last outing, Hassan Bashir will once again adorn the captain’s arm-band when the national football team makes its international return in an international friendly against Nepal next week.

Hassan was one of four Denmark-based players selected by head coach Shahzad Anwar and is one of four in the squad for the match against Nepal in Kathmandu on Nov 16 who faced off against Cambodia over two legs in the first qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup back in June 2019.

Goalkeeper Yousuf Butt and midfielder Adnan Mohammed are the other foreign-based players who featured in that tie which Pakistan lost 4-1 on aggregate alongside Wapda defender Mohammad Umar Hayat, who has been named vice-captain.

Since then, Pakistan have missed out on international action due to the long-running crisis in the Pakistan Football Federation despite global football body FIFA installing a Normalisation Committee to oversee affairs of the game in the country.

After the Normalisation Committee was appointed in September 2019, the raging Covid-19 pandemic meant that international sport came to a stop. Then, Pakistan was suspended by FIFA for a 15-month period after the NC was thrown out of office.

Since the ban was lifted at the end of June this year, the NC has tried to get the game back on track with former PFF technical director Shahzad being appointed to prepare the team for the first qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is slated to be held in October next year.

There has been an extensive training camp for local-based players but instead entrusting players with whom they had worked on for months, Pakistan have turned to three foreign-based players who are well past their prime.

The 35-year-old Hassan and Yousuf, 33, are currently on the books of Danish third-division side Ishoj IF. Adnan, once a devastating playmaker, is now playing in the Denmark’s fourth-division while undergoing rehabilitation for a gambling addiction.

However, Abdullah Iqbal — the final member of the Denmark-based quartet selected for the game against Nepal — seems the brightest prospect. The uncapped 20-year-old defender plays for B93 in Denmark’s second division.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Saqib Hanif, Yousuf Butt, Abdul Basit; Defenders: Mohammad Umar Hayat, Zain Jr, Sohail Khan, Syed Junaid Shah, Abdullah Shah, Mamoon Musa, Abdullah Iqbal, Sardar Wali, Haseeb Khan; Midfielders: Umair Ali, Zain-ul-Abideen Ishaq, Abdul Qadeer Khan, Alamgir Ghazi, Adnan Mohammed, Adnan Saeed; Forwards: Hassan Bashir, Mohammad Afzaal, Mohammad Waheed, Mohammad Waleed Khan, Shayek Dost.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2022