Pakistan to face Cambodia in qualifiers of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023
Pakistan has been drawn against Cambodia in the qualifiers of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 when the draw for the first round of AFC qualifiers was conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A milestone on the road to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar took place when the draw for the first phase of Asia’s qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup finals featuring the continent’s lowest-ranked nations was conducted , even though FIFA has yet to decide how many teams will participate in the tournament. FIFA president Gianni Infantino continues to promote his plan to expand the tournament from 32 to 48 teams and potentially share the hosting duties originally awarded to Qatar with other nations in the Middle East.
Oman and Kuwait have been approached as potential co-hosts, with a decision to be made at the FIFA congress in Paris on 5th June over the final number of participants and format of the competition.
The June qualifiers will feature six home and away matches, with part of the overall campaign to double as 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifying. Malaysia, Cambodia, Macau, Laos, Bhutan and Mongolia are seeded as the draw’s top six sides who have the challenging task of facing possible opponents: Bangladesh, Guam, Brunei Darussalam, Timor-Leste, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for a place in the next qualifying round.
The 2019, world rankings of Football shows Cambodia on 173rd spot while Pakistan stands at the 200th place.
Former Pakistan Football Captain, Mohammad Essa said that:
"All parties concerned should set aside their personal interests and ensure Pakistan’s participation in the major event. It would really hurt our football and Pakistan’s image if team missed the qualifiers. We have a winning chance against Cambodia and we should not miss it,"
Cambodia are coached by former Japan star Keisuke Honda and most recently lost to Pakistan’s South Asian rivals Bangladesh in a friendly last month to which former Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) official, Muslim Butt, who now resides in Cambodia, believes there is a strong chance that Pakistan can win the tie.
The winners of the two-legged ties, which will be played on 6th June with the return on 11 June , will advance to the next phase of the competition, which will be determined at the official draw for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar in July.
