LONDON: Juan Antonio Pizzi was at a loss to explain why his side fluffed their lines on their big opening night, insisting he did not see that result or performance coming after such an encouraging buildup to the tournament.
The Green Falcons were full of confidence heading into the tournament, with key midfielder Abdullah Otayf even boldly claiming the team had their sights set on reaching the last eight. But they will have to drastically recalibrate their expectations now after Russia thrashed them 5-0 in Moscow. Pizzi was asked if the occasion perhaps got to his side.
“I am not sure if it is because it was the first game against the hosts it had an impact on the result or not, but for sure we were not doing what we wanted to do,” he said. “The opposition really didn’t have to make a huge effort to win by a landslide. This is something that is not very common in these sorts of games.
“That’s what happened and we have to recover and overcome this situation; this shameful situation. And then thinking about the next match.”
Pizzi can console him with the fact that his side enjoyed 60 percent of possession, but they did nothing with it and did not register a single attempt on goal. Russia, on the other hand, were far more penetrative and were ruthless, scoring five times from their seven shots on target.
“I already said we did not play as we had planned to,” said Pizzi. “But on the other hand we have seen that certain things are better. Of course we can and will improve. But it takes time. We have to plan for next game, be positive and try to recover.”
The Green Falcons could certainly not use a lack of preparation time as an excuse. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) arranged five training camps and nine friendlies. Russia, on the other hand, only had five warm-up games.
“I believe that we have arrived here well prepared,” said Pizzi. “We have been preparing for this and my players have shown they are ready to play a World Cup. I can only say what I have said before: This game cannot be the reference. It’s true we have not done what we came here to do. We have not done what we have done in previous matches that gave us good results.”
Inevitably, Pizzi was asked about his future, particularly in light of the fact that SAFF sacked Carlos Alberto Parreira midway through the 1998 tournament.
“That is a very pertinent question and a great one given how I feel right now,” said Pizzi who only took over in November. “Listen, I have my own philosophy and try to do things the best I can and try to convey it the best I can. Everything I do, I do giving my all. There are certain situations I cannot control — I cannot control that. I have trust in my players and fully trust that we will have a better performance during the next game.”
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Saudi Arabia coach describes World Cup defeat as a ‘shameful situation’
Saudi Arabia coach describes World Cup defeat as a ‘shameful situation’
- Green Falcons thrashed 5-0 by Russia in opening game
- 'We did not play as we had planned to'
Decision to boycott India match puts pressure on Pakistan at the Twenty20 World Cup
- Pakistan government has instructed the national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against its sporting and political archrival
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be in the spotlight more for its decision to boycott its marquee Twenty20 World Cup group-stage game against India rather than how well the team performs in the 20-team tournament starting Saturday.
The Pakistan government instructed the national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against its sporting and political archrival, a decision that shook the cricket world. It was announced moments after Pakistan had swept title contenders Australia 3-0 at Lahore in its final preparation for the tournament.
“It’s not our decision, we can’t do anything,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said in reference to Pakistan’s boycott. “We will do whatever our government and the chairman (Pakistan Cricket Board) tell us.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday confirmed the boycott was a way of showing solidarity with Bangladesh after it was ousted from the tournament.
One of the three Pakistan opponents in Group A is the United States, which eliminated Pakistan after the group stage of the 2024 tournament in Texas with its thrilling win in a super over. Netherlands also has a history of surprising much tougher opponents when in 2022 it beat South Africa.
Six current players — Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi — were in the playing XI in that game against the US.
Namibia is the other Associate country in the group, and Pakistan can’t afford a loss against any of its opponents after already conceding two points to India if it proceeds with the boycott.
Pakistan opens its tournament against Netherlands at Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday. It plays the United States next Tuesday, Feb. 10, then potentially has an eight-day break — the India game was scheduled for Feb. 15 — until it takes on Namibia on Feb. 18.
Pakistan’s squad has been transformed under coach Mike Hesson, a New Zealander who took over last year, and has since introduced an aggressive brand of cricket to compete against stronger T20 nations.
In the last two series, captain Agha showed plenty of intent to score at a brisk pace at No. 3 in Sri Lanka and at home against Australia.
Babar’s strike rate of 128.38 saw the leading run-scorer in the shortest format missing out on a large part of Pakistan preparations for the T20 World Cup before he was recalled in the home series against South Africa in late October.
Babar’s experience of batting on slow pitches earned him a place in the squad despite a below-par run for Sydney Sixers in Australia’s Big Bash League, where he scored 202 runs in 11 games.
Pakistan plans to continue with its tried and tested opening pair of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan while Babar could anchor the innings at No. 4.
Pakistan is scheduled to play all its games in Sri Lanka, including semifinals and the final if goes that far in the tournament. And with the wickets expected to help the spinners, Pakistan has loaded its 15-member squad with variety of slow bowlers.
Spinner Usman Tariq has a unique bowling action and his long pause just before delivery of the ball surprised the Australians. Leg-spinners Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed; left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and the offspin of Ayub in the power play will give Pakistan plenty of options.
Pakistan left out Haris Rauf, despite the fast bowler finishing among the top wicket-takers in Australia’s BBL, because selectors believe it’s the spinners who will be playing a dominant role in Sri Lanka.
Shah, Afridi and Salman Mirza are the three specialist fast bowlers in the squad with all-rounder Faheem Ashraf the other seam option.
Pakistan has a rich history in the T20 World Cup and it could be a team to watch despite the off-field distractions. It has featured in three finals, winning the title in 2009, and also reached the semifinals three other times.
The Pakistan government instructed the national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against its sporting and political archrival, a decision that shook the cricket world. It was announced moments after Pakistan had swept title contenders Australia 3-0 at Lahore in its final preparation for the tournament.
“It’s not our decision, we can’t do anything,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said in reference to Pakistan’s boycott. “We will do whatever our government and the chairman (Pakistan Cricket Board) tell us.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday confirmed the boycott was a way of showing solidarity with Bangladesh after it was ousted from the tournament.
One of the three Pakistan opponents in Group A is the United States, which eliminated Pakistan after the group stage of the 2024 tournament in Texas with its thrilling win in a super over. Netherlands also has a history of surprising much tougher opponents when in 2022 it beat South Africa.
Six current players — Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi — were in the playing XI in that game against the US.
Namibia is the other Associate country in the group, and Pakistan can’t afford a loss against any of its opponents after already conceding two points to India if it proceeds with the boycott.
Pakistan opens its tournament against Netherlands at Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday. It plays the United States next Tuesday, Feb. 10, then potentially has an eight-day break — the India game was scheduled for Feb. 15 — until it takes on Namibia on Feb. 18.
Pakistan’s squad has been transformed under coach Mike Hesson, a New Zealander who took over last year, and has since introduced an aggressive brand of cricket to compete against stronger T20 nations.
In the last two series, captain Agha showed plenty of intent to score at a brisk pace at No. 3 in Sri Lanka and at home against Australia.
Babar’s strike rate of 128.38 saw the leading run-scorer in the shortest format missing out on a large part of Pakistan preparations for the T20 World Cup before he was recalled in the home series against South Africa in late October.
Babar’s experience of batting on slow pitches earned him a place in the squad despite a below-par run for Sydney Sixers in Australia’s Big Bash League, where he scored 202 runs in 11 games.
Pakistan plans to continue with its tried and tested opening pair of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan while Babar could anchor the innings at No. 4.
Pakistan is scheduled to play all its games in Sri Lanka, including semifinals and the final if goes that far in the tournament. And with the wickets expected to help the spinners, Pakistan has loaded its 15-member squad with variety of slow bowlers.
Spinner Usman Tariq has a unique bowling action and his long pause just before delivery of the ball surprised the Australians. Leg-spinners Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed; left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and the offspin of Ayub in the power play will give Pakistan plenty of options.
Pakistan left out Haris Rauf, despite the fast bowler finishing among the top wicket-takers in Australia’s BBL, because selectors believe it’s the spinners who will be playing a dominant role in Sri Lanka.
Shah, Afridi and Salman Mirza are the three specialist fast bowlers in the squad with all-rounder Faheem Ashraf the other seam option.
Pakistan has a rich history in the T20 World Cup and it could be a team to watch despite the off-field distractions. It has featured in three finals, winning the title in 2009, and also reached the semifinals three other times.
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