OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier — Pakistan vs Myanmar March 30, 2026 WITH PAKISTAN HEAD COACH NOLBERTO SOLANO (provided by the Pakistan Football Federation)
OPENING STATEMENTS
Coach Nolberto Solano: Thank you all for being here. It is always really exciting when fixtures like this arrive. We are looking forward to the match tomorrow. As usual, it will be a very difficult match — Myanmar showed a very good result just a few days ago. But yes, we are prepared, and we continue our preparation. We have a plan for this year. That is the reason you can see a lot of local boys here — we have the opportunity to show this nation what they can do, because they have a lot of quality. We are ready for tomorrow and we are looking forward to a good result.
Captain Alamgir Ghazi: Thank you. We are ready and the boys are motivated. We are looking forward to a good match. We will fight till the last whistle — that is the motivation.
QUESTIONS
Q: There were some questions about certain players, including Rahman. Was he part of the training?
Coach Solano: Yes. It is a shame because he was training quite well. But like I am saying — we have a plan for Pakistan, and as everyone knows, we do not have an official competition until 2027. This year is about giving chances to different players, seeing how they respond at national team level. It is different from playing for your own club.
I saw this particular player during the Challenge Cup and thought we needed to have a look at him. He was training so well. Unfortunately, he pulled his hamstring — because the training intensity at national team level is completely different. I always tell the players: the intensity here is not the same as at your academy or club in Pakistan. At this level, you have to be really fit. It is a shame, but it is not the end of the world.
We may not have an official competition until September, but we are building — trying to build a very strong, very competitive team. These boys, honestly, they have a dream. Despite all the difficulties and difficult situations around football in Pakistan, they try to do their best. They are proud to play for their country. They want to show the world — Pakistan, why not? A dream to be in the next important competition, the Asian Cup. Why not the World Cup. Step by step.
Q: Regarding the absence of Shayek — can you explain that decision?
Coach Solano: The plan for this match was also to look at other opportunities, other players. I know Shayek very well — he has been doing well for us. But unfortunately, due to injury, we had to call him in at the last minute. Samad had to leave. I told him he just needs to recover. I know he is very disappointed to miss tomorrow’s match — but it is part of the game, it is football.
The message to all players is: always be ready. The national team journey is a very long one — when you start qualifying games, it takes two years. Everybody has to be ready, everybody has to be available. Even when you are not in the training camp, keep working. Every Pakistan player will have the chance to represent their country if they keep doing well. [Samad] will have the opportunity to come back.
Q: Should diaspora players have been included in this camp?
Coach Solano: That is exactly why I am saying — the idea, the plan this time, is to give the local boys the opportunity to see how they respond at this level. Of course, I know the diaspora players very well by now. But I want these local boys to understand how important it is to look after themselves — whatever the system here, not playing professionally every weekend, they still need to prepare themselves. Because it is really tough to play for the national team at this level.
But yes, we want to expand. We are very short at the moment compared to other national teams in terms of the diaspora pool. The idea is to build that — to introduce more players into the national team setup. I know Abdullah, I know Otis, all the diaspora players, what they can do. But these local boys also need to be given that chance.
Q: Are you satisfied with your team’s preparation?
Coach Solano: Yes. We always analyse. Myanmar is a very good team — they just had a difficult result at home against Afghanistan a few days ago. But we are always preparing. Alamgir is here and he can tell you — the preparation has been good. These boys are really exciting, really humble, easy to work with. They want to learn, they want to do well.
Despite all the issues around football in Pakistan, they remain positive. I like them very much, really. They are looking forward to tomorrow — to getting a good result against Myanmar — because that will keep our confidence going. We are building a strong squad for the future.
Q: Two questions — how important is FIFA support to you, and what is the identity of this football team?
Coach Solano: On FIFA — there is a big gap here, unfortunately. These young lads, this generation, missed out for a long time because of the unfortunate situations Pakistan had to deal with — being out of the FIFA system for around ten years. That is a lot. On identity — we always try to be a very well-organised, very strong team.
I have told the boys: they have the talent, they have the freedom in the match to do what they feel and what they can see. But more importantly, we have to build a very strong mentality. Right now, every team that comes here thinks they are coming for three points. No. The more important thing is building that mentality — Pakistan needs to start being very competitive. That is the idea, that is the plan. It is difficult to build a football identity in the national team setup because these players come from different places, different coaches.
So in the national team, the most important thing is to build a very good family unit — strong, hard to beat, getting results. I do not have these players every day like a football club. But they need to start building an identity — to be a strong, hard team to play against. That is the foundation.
Q: The match tomorrow is behind closed doors — your thoughts?
Coach Solano: It is a shame because of the situation. We will not have the public tomorrow, it would have been great for the players and for everyone. The atmosphere with fans is always fantastic — every footballer will tell you, we all enjoy having our supporters there. But we have to respect the decision. The most important thing is safety. We hope that in the next games, we can have a full stadium. Fingers crossed.
Question for Alamgir Ghazi: How do you feel about the preparation going into tomorrow?
Alamgir Ghazi: Look, this time it was good — it was eight days. But what made it even better is that the boys had already come from the Challenge Cup, so they were already in training and physically fit. And the five or six boys who were playing in the Bangladesh Premier League were also in training and had played four matches.
So overall, the training was good, there was a lot of work on match fitness, and the boys are motivated. They have something to prove — I don’t think local players will get a better opportunity than this to show what they can do. The boys are well prepared and very motivated. Thank you.