05/06/2019
A very good preview! Best of luck team Pakistan!
*Match Preview By MLP Coach Education Team*
Teams: Cambodia vs Pakistan
Competition: 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (1st Round)
Leg: 1st
Date: June 6, 2019
Time: 04:30 pm (Pakistan Standard Time)
Ground: Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium
Playing an away match in front of 50000 people is never easy in football, but Pakistan need to hold their nerves if they are to win their first-ever World Cup qualifier game.
Team Review:
On paper, it seems that green shirts have their best team in history. With Hassan Bashir, Muhammad Riaz, Muhammad Ali and Adnan Mohammmed up ahead, Pakistan will not have much problems in the attack. After inclusion of Samir Nabi in the midfield, the link-up issues between defence and attack will be minimized. However, the only problematic area for Shaheens is their defence. Zesh Rehman is the only experienced defender in the squad and at his age, he cannot do the work of 4 defenders on his own. Hence, it is predicted that Rahis Nabi will play out of position in this leg and will take one of the defensive positions which may also help the defence as well as goalkeeper Yousuf Butt.
Tactical Review:
Pakistan need to take their chances on set-pieces to score goals as they are more efficient than Cambodians in terms of height and physicality. Under the umbrella of Keisuke Honda, Cambodia will be playing with high confidence and they are pacey, hence, the full backs need to cover up as much space as possible on the flanks otherwise Nogueira XI may have to pay the price.
Scoreline Prediction:
2 - 2