ISLAMABAD: The Saudi national football team completed the final preparations on Wednesday for their game against Pakistan in Islamabad on Thursday in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup.
“The match tomorrow is important for us and we aim to win it to secure all the points and keep our position at the top of the group,” head coach Roberto Mancini said.
“We are happy to be in Islamabad and thank you for the warm welcome we have received since our arrival.”
After four games in the second stage of the qualifiers, the Green Falcons sit top of Group G on 10 points, followed by Jordan on 7 and Tajikistan on 5. Pakistan are bottom of the group, having lost all of their games so far.
Asked about the decision to travel to Pakistan the day before the game, Mancini said: “This is a practice we have applied in the previous two matches, against Jordan and Tajikistan, where we prefer to train at our own field and have the final training session at the match field.”
Pakistan have conceded 20 goals in four group games and scored only one, but Mancini refused to underestimate them, saying: “We respect the Pakistani team … there are no significant differences. It is a game of 11 players against 11 players. The most important thing for us is to be present, with high concentration, to achieve the goal we came for.”
After thanking Pakistan for the warm welcome the team received, midfielder Mukhtar Ali said: “Our focus is on Thursday’s match, which holds great importance for us. We aim to deliver a good performance and win the points.”
Next up after Pakistan, the Saudis will host Jordan in Riyadh on June 11.
Saudi Arabia aim to build on lead at top of World Cup and Asian Cup qualification group
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Saudi Arabia aim to build on lead at top of World Cup and Asian Cup qualification group
- ‘The match tomorrow is important for us and we aim to win it to secure all the points and keep our position at the top of the group,’ says head coach Roberto Mancini
- He refuses to underestimate opponents Pakistan, who have lost their previous 4 games in the group, conceding 20 goals and scoring just 1 in the process
Pakistan opt to bat first against England at T20 World Cup
- “It looks like a good pitch. We want to put up an above-par score and defend that,” Ali Agha said
- England have a lot of knowledge about the conditions in Pallekele
PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Pakistan won the toss against England and elected to bat first in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights game on Tuesday.
“It looks like a good pitch. We want to put up an above-par score and defend that,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said.
England started the second round with a resounding 51-run win over co-host Sri Lanka at the same venue last Sunday while Pakistan’s opening game against New Zealand was washed out in Colombo.
England have a lot of knowledge about the conditions in Pallekele, where they have won all four T20s over the last few weeks, including a 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka before the tournament.
Pakistan batters have been struggling in the tournament and, except for opener Sahibzada Farhan, the World Cup leading run-scorer with 220, no one else has scored more than 100 runs.
Pakistan left out allrounder Faheem Ashraf and brought back fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi while mystery spinner Usman Tariq was preferred over leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.
England captain Harry Brook hoped the “fresh pitch” would play better for chasing.
England named the same XI for the fifth match in a row in the tournament, staying faithful to struggling opener Jos Buttler.
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Lineups:
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (captain), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
