Pakistan men’s football team head coach, Stephen Constantine, has indicated that he will coach the national side till the FIFA-appointed Normalization Committee (NC) Chairperson, Haroon Malik, runs the affairs of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF).
Malik has requested the British coach to remain with the team till the end of March 2024, as Pakistan will face Jordan home and away in the 2nd round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Constantine’s contract ended after the 1st round matches against Cambodia, but due to the success, he was brought back to the side to improve the team’s performance in the 2nd round. Pakistan has conceded 10 goals in its initial 2 matches in the 2nd round, against Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan.
The British coach deploys a park-the-bus approach as he relies more on off-the-ball formation than keeping possession of the ball. His gameplay reminds the supporters of ex-Burnley coach Sean Dyche, who used to make the other team work hard to score a goal. Dyche had center-backs such as Ben Mee and James Tarkowski who used to keep the ball away from the goal with clearances, blocks, and headers.
Pakistan missed the leadership of Easah Suliman in the initial 2 matches of the 2nd round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Once he comes back, Constantine’s gameplan will make more sense in the upcoming fixtures.
