KARACHI, Sept 9: Pakistan team must strengthen its defence and midfield to have any realistic chance of advancing to the last four stage of World Cup in Monchengladbach, former Olympian Hasan Sardar said on Saturday.

“Losing two vital points by drawing against the Kiwis was surely a setback for the team,” Hasan said while talking to newsmen here. “They cannot afford a defeat in coming group ‘A’ matches.”

“Pakistan team must produce their best in coming matches against Spain, Argentina and Australia to reach the semifinals,” he stressed.

“Defenders are providing enough gaps to the opponents which are being exploited at key stages of the game,” added Hasan.

“The coach must increase a defender in the deep or in the midfield to counter the problem,” he suggested.

“Sohail Abbas or Wasim Ahmed can be used as the fourth player in the midfield. Had Sohail converted even a solitary short corner, it would have been a different story against New Zealand,” he opined.

Hasan pointed out that varied coaching styles of Tahir Zaman, Roelant Oltmans, Asif Bajwa and now Shahnaz Shaikh were creating confusion for the players. “We are adopting Asian style sometimes and European at other occasions but what we are not doing is good marking on players and not working hard enough on counter-attacks,” he maintained.

Hasan Sardar, however, complimented forward Muhammad Zubair and said the lad had shown spark, speed, dribble and skill. Zubair, the younger brother of former Pakistan Captain Muhammad Sarwar, banged in a brace of field goals in Pakistan's draw, netting the match levelling shot at fag end of the match. “He (Zubair) is young energetic and he keeps up the tempo,” said Hasan who is also a member of selection committee. — APP