Sohail Abbas’ face said it all. The usually smiling short corner specialist sat grim-faced just minutes after his team lost to Germany by an odd goal in three on Sunday evening. Sohail was supposed to play a pivotal role in his team’s victory in the crucial encounter. But the Karachi player was unable to find the net on two occasions as Pakistan failed to get a point from the Pool A game.
“You really feel sorry for yourself and your teammates when such a thing happens at a major event like the Olympic Games,” said Sohail yesterday. “I was hoping to score in this match because it was very important one for us.”
Sohail took the field against Germans in good form as he had scored on both the short corners that came Pakistan’s way in their last international match before the Olympics.
It was because of Sohail’s two goals that Pakistan defeated hosts Spain in the three-nation Olympic warm-up tournament in Alcala la Real two weeks back. But it turned out be the different story for him in the match against Germany as Sohail went a bit erratic watching both his flicks going way off target.
“We might have lost in the match but we have proved that our side is in fine form by giving a good showing against Germany,” said skipper Muhammad Nadeem ND. Nadeem and his boys are now looking at the relatively easier game against Pool A minnows Egypt. After the tough game against Germany, easily the best team in the 12-nation competition, the match against the lowest-ranked team in the group should be a cakewalk for the Pakistanis.
But nobody in the Pakistani camp is willing to take victory against the African champions for granted. “Egypt is an unknown commodity for us,” said the team’s assistant coach Tahir Zaman.
“They may not be included among the leading teams in this tournament but the fact of the matter is that if they are good enough to qualify for the Olympics than they must be good enough to give their rivals a tough time too. We would certainly not be taking them lightly,” said the former Pakistan skipper.
Pakistan’s young goalkeeper Salman Akber has played against them as a member of the national junior team and is quite unimpressed by their overall strength.
“They are a fit team and play ferociously. But they lack in technique and if we play to our potential I don’t think we will face many problems.”
“Winning the match against the Egyptian by a good margin would boost my team’s confidence,” said Tahir.
