Pakistan’s center-back Easah Suliman shed light on the reason behind his team’s loss against India in the first match of the SAFF Championship 2023. The Men in Green suffered a 4-0 loss in the opening game as India’s legendary striker Sunil Chhetri netted a hattrick.
Pakistan’s performance in the match was not up to the mark as they gifted the first two goals to India, with goalkeeper Saqib Hanif handing a goal to Chhetri on a platter before the referee awarded India a penalty on a controversial handball.
Chettri rounded off with the hattrick in the second half before Udanta Kumam scored the fourth goal late in the half to secure a sensational win for India.
Check out the analysis of Pakistan’s chances in the SAFF Championship:
Easah believes that the odds were pinned against Pakistan even before the kickoff which had a major impact on the team’s performance. Easah stated that the Pakistan team had a turbulent time arriving in Bengaluru for the match after an almost 20-hour flight from Mauritius.
He further added that some of the players in the squad arrived in the city just a few hours before the game which disrupted Pakistan’s entire gameplan. He stated that the Pakistan team hadn’t trained together for three days which further impacted the team chemistry.
It was very difficult for us today, we had 24 hours of traveling and most of our players only arrived in Bangalore at 5 pm today. It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact.
Easah Suliman," we arrived today , 24 hours of traveling , some players arrived at hotel at 5:00 pm. It's not excuse it's fact ".#PakistanFootball#SAFFChampionship2023 pic.twitter.com/d7vgyuw5dj
— Pakistan Defence🇵🇰 (@Save__Pakistan) June 21, 2023
The main issue here is players are put on team based on who they know and who they bribe. With such ragtags, this result is not astonishing.
Any evidence that Essa Suleman and Otis Jan Khan (who play abroad in respectable leagues) have bribed PFF please?
The team visa was delayed. The flights were manipulated by India too, so that players cannot eat well and sleep before the match. We should acknowledge that match was manipulated for pre-match conditions