The Pakistan National Football Team, known as the Shaheens, represents Pakistan in men's international football. It is managed by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), the governing body for football in the country.
Pakistan's national team debuted in 1950 but has yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals. The team has also never qualified for any major tournament outside the South Asian region. However, on a regional level, they won the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament and achieved gold at the South Asian Games in 1989 and 1991.
The team experienced a brief period of emergence in the 1950s and early 1960s. However, as football's global popularity surged, the sport's standing in Pakistan deteriorated.
Flag of Pakistan
Early History and Formation (1947-1960)
Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was established. Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. Pakistan played its first official international game against Iran in Tehran on October 27, 1950, losing 5-1 during the Shah of Iran's birthday celebrations.
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Pakistan's next international outing came in the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. The team finished as joint winner along with India after finishing with the same points in the table.
During the early 1950s, Pakistan played in the following Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament editions. These were held in Burma in 1953, India in 1954, and East Pakistan in 1955.
The team made its first appearance at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines. Masood Fakhri scored a hat-trick. He became the first player from Pakistan to do so. Pakistan defeated Singapore 6-2 in a group match.
The Pakistan Football Federation became one of the 13 founding members of the Asian Football Confederation on May 8, 1954.
Initially scheduled to play against Israel in the inaugural 1956 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, the team withdrew along with Afghanistan due to reluctance to host the Israeli team.
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However, in 1956, the team toured Ceylon, Singapore, and China. Two years later, they featured at the 1958 Asian Games in Japan.
Pakistan had participated in various friendly tournaments in the early 1960s, with the Merdeka Cup hosted in Malaysia after the country's first participation in 1960.
The 1960s: Friendlies and Tournaments
During the China national team tour in Pakistan in 1963, the first test in Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) ended in a 0-0 tie. The second match in Peshawar ended in a 3-2 victory for Pakistan. The third fixture in Lahore ended in another 1-1 draw. The final fourth match in Karachi ended in a 2-0 defeat for Pakistan.
The 1964 Summer Olympics qualification the same year included a 4-1 loss in Iran and a 1-0 win in Pakistan.
In 1965 after a tour to Ceylon involving several test matches, they played in the inaugural 1965 RCD Cup and finished third. In the 1960s, the national team also hosted several teams from the Soviet Union and Dallas Tornados for unofficial test matches.
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In March 1967, the national team played a four-match test series against Saudi Arabia in Lyallpur, Sukkur, Hyderabad, and Karachi, winning and losing once, and drawing twice.
Months later, Pakistan lost their Asian Cup qualifiers against Burma and Cambodia and drew their final match against India. They then hosted the second 1967 RCD Cup and finished third.
In 1969, they went to Iran for the 1969 Friendship Cup. They won 2-1 against Iraq but lost 9-1 to Iran, which was a record defeat.
1970s and 1980s: Rebuilding and Tournaments
Following the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh. In the early 1970s the national side participated at the 1974 RCD Cup and the 1974 Asian Games. The most notable result in this period included a 2-2 draw against Turkey at the former and a 5-1 win against Bahrain at the latter.
After several years of competitive football inactivity, in the 1981 King's Cup, Pakistan secured a goalless draw against Semarang from Indonesia.
Pakistan hosted the 1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament involving Iran, Bangladesh, Oman, Nepal, and the second string Pakistan Blues. The Green Shirts started off with a 2-0 win over Nepal. They then lost to Iran but came back and beat Bangladesh 2-1. The last game against Oman ended nil-nil and Pakistan ended at the third position behind the Pakistan Blues team.
The national team hosted another 1985 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament, this time inviting North Korea XI, Indonesia Youth, Bangladesh, and Nepal. A goalless draw against the North Koreans boosted the side, as they beat Nepal by one goal. However, they lost in the final two games against Bangladesh and Indonesia.
After participating at the 1986 Fajr International Tournament in Iran, the team finished runner-ups at the 1986 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament involving China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and a South Korean XI.
In 1987 after an unsuccessful campaign at the 1988 Summer Olympics Qualification against Nepal at away venue, the side was more successful at the 1987 South Asian Games, winning the bronze medal match against Bangladesh 1-0.
1990s: World Cup and Asian Cup Qualifications
In 1988, after losing the 1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Pakistan began with their first ever participation for the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for Italy in January and February, losing all matches.
Pakistan had another early exit in the 1990 Asian Games, losing all three games. In the 1991 South Asian Games however, Pakistan beat the Maldives in the final 2-0 to win their second gold, from goals scored by Qazi Ashfaq and Muhammad Nauman Khan.
In 1992, the team lost all matches at the 1992 AFC Asian Cup qualification and the 1992 Jordan International Tournament.
After again ending unsuccessful at the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification in 1993, the team hosted the inaugural 1993 SAARC Gold Cup in Lahore, finishing fourth. Pakistan went out of the 1995 SAARC Gold Cup group stage on goal difference.
The team lost all their Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying games. Pakistan came third in the 1997 SAFF Cup, thanks to a 1-0 victory over Sri Lanka in the third place playoff.
Pakistan were unable to win any of their 2000 Asian Cup qualifiers.
2000s: Mixed Fortunes and Administrative Changes
In 2002, Pakistan played in an unsuccessful four match series against Sri Lanka.
At the 2003 SAFF Cup, under the inspiration of the attacking midfielder Sarfraz Rasool, Pakistan stunned India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in three victories as they reached the semi-finals only to fall short against Maldives by 1-0. Pakistan finished fourth, losing 2-1 in extra time to India in the third place playoff.
Later in the year, Pakistan won their first Asian Cup qualifier with a 3-0 over Macao, but still were unable to qualify.
2004 saw changes in Pakistan football, with a new administration in place by this time and a new national league up and running.
The Pakistan team lost their first two Asian Cup qualifiers in 2006, in between which they took part in the first 2006 AFC Challenge Cup. They failed to get past the group stage, but beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0.
Back at the Asian Cup qualifiers, they lost their remaining fixtures. In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in 2007, they fell to a heavy defeat by the Asian champions Iraq, losing 7-0 on aggregate across the two legs after drawing 0-0 in the second round.
In 2008, Pakistan travelled to Nepal for two friendlies before taking on the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualification. In the 2008 SAFF Championship, Pakistan failed to go beyond the group stages, losing to Maldives 3-0, India 2-1 and Nepal 4-1, which signaled the end of Akhtar Mohiuddin's tenure as head coach.
After Mohiuddin's departure, George Kottan was hired and the veteran tactician took the team to the 2009 SAFF Championship. The side were defeated 1-0 by Sri Lanka, before drawing 0-0 with Bangladesh as Adnan Ahmed missed a late penalty to seal a win. Kottan was soon sacked in February 2010, Pakistan had no senior games during the entire calendar year.
2010s: Struggles and FIFA Suspensions
For the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification in 2011, coach Tariq Lutfi was called up once more and failed to deliver. Defeats such as the 3-0 against Turkmenistan and 3-1 against India meant that the side were already out of the qualifiers despite beating Chinese Taipei by 2-0.
Later in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in July, Pakistan lost 3-0 to Bangladesh in Dhaka, before earning a 0-0 draw in Lahore a few days later. That saw the end of Lutfi's reign, with Serbian coach Zaviša Milosavljević taking over in November 2011 right before the 2011 SAFF Championship.
Despite having little time to influence the team, Zavisa managed to hold Bangladesh 0-0, Maldives 0-0 and Nepal 1-1 in the India-hosted 2011 SAFF Championship.
2012's sole game was witnessed in November against Singapore, who thrashed Pakistan 4-0 at home.
Pakistan then played the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification in Bishkek, losing out 1-0 to Tajikistan in injury-time.
Pakistan played a friendly against Afghanistan in August, losing 3-0 without their foreign-based players. Coach Zaviša Milosavljević was controversially sacked and replaced by Bahrain's Mohammad Al-Shamlan, who acted as a coaching consultant to Shahzad Anwar in the 2013 SAFF Championship.
The Shaheens lost their first game 1-0 to India after an own-goal from Samar Ishaq. Against hosts Nepal, Hassan Bashir scored an early goal, only to see 15-year-old Bimal Gharti Magar level things in injury-time.
For Pakistan's campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they were to face Yemen in Round 1 in the AFC qualifying section.
Pakistan went to Bangladesh to take part in 2018 SAFF Cup which started in September, 2018 which was their first FIFA recognized tournament after a span of 3 years. Pakistan played its first match of the event against Nepal which ended in a 2-1 win. Pakistan lost its next match to hosts Bangladesh by 1-0 after conceding a late goal.
After the SAFF Cup, Pakistan negotiated with the Palestine Football Association for a friendly. It was initially reported that the match will be played in Lahore, Pakistan on 15 November 2018 but Palestine decided to host the event afterwards. Due to visa issues, Pakistan team couldn't fly to Palestine on the desired date.
Disappointment would soon strike again as Pakistan lost its chance to pass the 2022 FIFA qualification, losing against Cambodia twice in the first round and was eliminated. The preliminary camp for the matches were controversially organised by two different federations.
Recent Developments and Future Prospects
Following the victory in Islamabad, the Shaheens were drawn in a group with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tajikistan.
The Pakistan national team's home kit has always been a green shirt and white shorts. The colours are derived from the flag of Pakistan which is a green field with a white crescent moon and five-rayed star at its centre, and a vertical white stripe at the hoist side. The away shirt colour has changed several times. The national team has used white shirt with white shorts or white shirt with green shorts.
