ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan men’s football team will take on Cambodia today, Tuesday, when the two sides meet for a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification match at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad in what will be first international football match hosted by the South Asian nation in eight years.

For fans in Pakistan, this is not just a World Cup qualification game but the homecoming of international football as the South Asian country last hosted Afghanistan in 2015 in Lahore. The national team played its last home World Cup qualifier in 2011 against Bangladesh.

Last week, Pakistan held Cambodia to a goalless match during the opening leg of the first-round qualifier in Phenom Penh. To advance to the second round, the national team needs to end a woeful record at the home leg today.

“We are very excited to host the FIFA WC 2026 Qualifier match against Cambodia, the home leg after a hiatus of 12 years and a competitive game after a gap of eight years,” Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Spokesperson Muhammad Yashal told Arab News.

“We request all the football fans to come to the stadium and support our heroes and show the world that we are a sport-loving nation.”

The winning side will make it to the second round where the likes of Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Jordan await in Group G. A total of 36 teams will be grouped into nine groups, four teams each, with the winners and runners-up then progressing through to the third round.

Last month, Pakistan’s football body announced the appointment of Stephen Constantine, an elite FIFA instructor since 2000, as the new head coach of the men’s national squad ahead of the World Cup qualification match. Constantine has earned respect in South Asia for taking India 176 to 96 in international rankings.

Pakistan are currently at 197th position with 847.67 points on the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, while Cambodia are at 177th spot.

Pakistan has faced many challenges in international football over the years, including multiple suspensions of the country’s domestic premier division in the last six years. The last one was in April 2021, when FIFA banned PFF due to “third-party interference” after a “hostile takeover” of the body’s headquarters in Lahore and the ousting of a FIFA representative by a rival group. 

FIFA restored PFF’s membership in June 2022.