Team will play better against Saudi Arabia: Trishan

LAHORE: Trishan Patel, the assistant coach of Pakistan football team, believes that the national team will play better against Saudi Arabia during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round 2 Qualifier match at Jinnah Stadium Islamabad on June 6.

Trishan Patel, who has been remotely assisting the national side in the World Cup Qualifiers, said: “Saudi Arabia is a fantastic team. However, we will approach every game with excitement, determination, and fight, never with fear. Although our last two qualifying matches were disappointing, I believe that in the final two games, we will display a more committed team with a greater tactical understanding.” Trishan, who has also been assigned the responsibility of Performance Analyst, further said: “I think first and foremost when you come up against a high-caliber opposition such as Saudi Arabia, you need to be clear with what you want in possession and out of possession. The boys on the camp have trained extremely hard and we are continuously working to evolve as a team and provide the right training so our trajectory is in an upward direction.”

He added: “We have many strengths but we want to make them into super strengths over time, we are here as a management team, nothing ever happens overnight but we know we have players in our squad who have talent, and they know they need to marry this talent with consistently training well by adopting a growth mindset and are willing to go through difficult moments and come out of the other side much stronger. It has been fantastic to see such a close bond between local and diaspora players on the camp, after all, we are all on this exciting journey together as one; players, management team and supporters.”

Trishan further explained: “We [Coaching Staff] collaborate every single day with the sole purpose of improving Pakistan in terms of the standards we demand. There are so many football and life experiences we all have that can lead to great discussions and ultimately better decisions that will benefit the national team going forward. There are obvious challenges that Coach [Stephen] has spoken passionately about and we hope soon stakeholders can work together to improve the football structure and facilities in Pakistan.’’ he concluded.