Lutfi confident ahead of Bangladesh tie but bemoans Qatar trip cancellation

By Zaka Ahmed Gondal
 

In an exclusive interview to FootballPakistan.Com after the Pakistan team’s 8-0 practice match win over Model Town FC (MTFC) at MTFA Ground in Lahore, Pakistan Head Coach Tariq Lutfi said he was confident of a positive result in the WC qualifier against Bangladesh later this month but was disappointed on the cancellation of a foreign preparatory trip.

”If we can make 16 chances against a better Malaysia side, we should be confident of a performance against Bangladesh. If would have been better if we could go to Qatar but we couldn’t and it would’ve been much better preparation if we could play strong teams in UAE and Qatar than the local teams we have here. The harder the preparation is the finer you can tune the squad.

When asked about the guys at his disposal he said, ”The boys are in good touch, we have Ahmed Akber Khan in the mid-field and he is doing well, Atif and Zesh will make the defence solid. The front line is better with Rasool coming in with Arifi. With Adnan and Rizwan playing well in mid-field, we are confident of a good show.

He praised the FPDC staff for the promotion of Football in Pakistan and said that the group is doing a great job in spreading football news amongst the Pakistani masses.

FPDC also caught up with GK coach Aslam Khan who was confident of a good show by Jaffer Khan following his return to the squad. When asked why Sakib and Muzammil were not in camp, he said he has sent them with the junior squads to play and get real exposure. He said that he wishes Amir Gul and Muhammad Omer a speedy recovery from injury but is not worried as Jaffer is a veteran with loads of international experience.