Pakistan Under-22 football team will play their Group B matches of the Asian Cup Qualifiers in Saudi Arabia from June 23 to July 3. The matches will be played at the King Fahd International Stadium and Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium.
In the group, apart from Pakistan and hosts Saudi Arabia, there are Palestine, Sri Lanka, Syria and Kyrgyzstan. Two teams from the group will move into the tournament proper which will be held next year.
Pakistan will play their first match against Saudi Arabia on June 23, Sri Lanka on June25, Kyrgyzstan on June 28, Syria on June 30 and Palestine on July 3.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Under-22 football team lost their last practice game against Thailand’s Division-II League top team Ayutthaya 2-1 in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Pakistan got onto the scoresheet through Zakir Lashari in the 14th minute. However, Ayutthaya bounced back, scoring twice in the 58th and the 71st minutes to seal victory.
“We had dominated the game right from the start but a few missed chances harmed us a lot,” Pakistan team assistant coach Nasir Ismail told ‘The News’ from Bangkok.
Head coach Zavisa said that although Pakistan lost the match the players extended promising performance. “I think the tour will help us prepare well for the Asian Cup Qualifiers,” the Serbian said. Pakistan won two games and lost two matches on their training tour which ended with the Wednesday’s match. The Greenshirts will return home on Thursday (today).