Phenom Penh: Asian soccer lesser-lights such as Mongolia and Pakistan are just 90 minutes away from a rare taste of the big time that could even include a match against the continent’s most famous player, Son Heung-min.
Less than 12 months after the 2018 World Cup final, the 12 weakest teams in Asia this week took the first step along the road to the 2022 tournament to be held in Qatar. The six that emerge as winners after next Tuesday’s second legs will progress to the group stage and potential match-ups with powerhouses such as Son’s South Korea, Japan and Australia.
The prospect of Son, Asia’s biggest name who last week appeared in the UEFA Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur (a 2-0 loss to Liverpool), taking the field against Pakistan appeals very much to captain Zesh Rehman.
The British-born defender has past experience of facing the best attackers in the league during a spell in the English Premier League with Fulham, but a 2-0 loss to Cambodia on Thursday in Phnom Penh means that there is much to do in the return game for Pakistan.
“It would be huge for the whole country and it would be a significant achievement considering the lack of international exposure in recent years,” Rehman told The Associated Press.
Just to get the sport in the headlines for the right reasons would be a step forward in a country with a soccer scene that has been burdened by politics, corruption and incompetence for years.
So bad has it become that Pakistan, a country with a population of around 200 million, is ranked 200th in the world by FIFA, below teams such as Bhutan, Mongolia and Brunei.
“The ranking is too low,” Rehman admitted. “I believe however with this coaching staff, regular games and a mixture of local and foreign-based players that the ranking will no doubt improve.”
To take on South Korea and Son would be exciting but more important is the prospect of eight guaranteed group games in the next stage.
Pakistan needs as much soccer as possible. With qualification for the 2022 World Cup being combined with qualification for the 2023 Asian Cup, early elimination can be a major blow for teams and lead to long periods without competitive action.
“We have not has so many games In the last few years due to some political factors that are beyond the players control, so we just focus on the games as and when they are scheduled for us to play,” said Rehman.
Mongolia is also looking to give soccer a boost in a country where it is far from being the No. 1 sport, lagging behind volleyball, basketball, archery, wrestling and others. Preserving its 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Brunei is vital.
“The biggest challenge is to make football really popular,” Hatem Souissi, the technical director of the Mongolian federation, told the Asian Football Confederation. “If we can qualify for the next round then we will try to bring top teams so that the crowd can come and see them.
“We need to make the sport popular and bring big names. And we will find that hard if we don’t qualify for the next round.”
Early start to WCup qualifying for weaker Asian soccer sides
Early start to WCup qualifying for weaker Asian soccer sides
- 12 weakest teams in Asia took an early start this weak to qualify for the big games
- Pakistan is currently ranked 200th in the FIFA World Rankings
Pakistan, Iran leaders highlight mutual support after both engaged in short wars this year
- Prime Minister Sharif met Iranian President Pezeshkian in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international forum
- Pakistani PM also had an informal interaction with President Putin, discussed regional issue with President Erdogan
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday praised the support their countries offered one another during episodes of external aggression this year, according to the state media, as they met on the sidelines of an international peace forum in Turkmenistan.
Pakistan fought a four-day war with India in May, when New Delhi fired missiles at its cities and Islamabad responded with retaliatory strikes. Nearly a month after the conflict, Iran waged its own war with Israel after Tel Aviv carried out attacks inside Iranian territory, prompting Tehran to launch a series of missile and drone barrages in response.
The meeting in Turkmenistan came as Pakistan and Iran seek to steady ties after a period of strained security relations, while also attempting to expand economic cooperation and strengthen border management. The two leaders reviewed regional developments, including Pakistan’s concerns over militant attacks it says originate from Afghanistan, and ongoing diplomatic efforts related to Gaza.
“Both leaders appreciated the strong support that their countries had provided to each other when they had faced external aggression earlier this year,” the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
Sharif highlighted the outcome of the 22nd Pakistan–Iran Joint Economic Commission held this year and urged closer coordination to increase bilateral trade, operationalize border markets, reinforce border security and revive transport links, including the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul rail network.
Pezeshkian, according to the report, said Iran wished to further strengthen ties and thanked Sharif for a “useful and timely exchange of views.”
Sharif also pressed for “meaningful action” from the Afghan Taliban administration to address Pakistan’s security concerns, APP added.
Separately, the Pakistani prime minister met other global leaders attending the forum marking the International Year of Peace and Trust 2025 and Turkmenistan’s Neutrality Day.
He held informal interactions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed regional issues with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov.
