The Pakistan national under-17 football team is a youth football team operated under the Pakistan Football Federation. The team represents Pakistan in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup and the SAFF U-15/16/17 Championship, winning the latter's inaugural edition, and is yet to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Green Boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Pakistan Football Federation | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Sub-confederation | SAFF (South Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Sajjad Mehmood | ||
| Captain | Ubaidullah Khan | ||
| FIFA code | PAK | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Pakistan 1–1 Maldives  (Kathmandu, Nepal; July 1992) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| Pakistan 6–0 Maldives (Kathmandu, Nepal; 3 August 2011) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Indonesia 25–0 Pakistan (Tehran, Iran; 28 October 2012) | |||
| AFC U-16 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2002) | ||
| Best result | Group Stage (2002) | ||
| SAFF U-16 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2011) | ||
| Best result | Champions (2011) | ||
Medal record | |||
History
editAFC U-17 Asian Cup
editThe AFC U-16 Championship is the top level tournament for under-16 football teams in Asia and began in 1985. Pakistan participated in the tournament for the first time in 1992. They were knocked-out of the 1992 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, finishing fourth in their five-team group. The team qualified for the first time in 2002 after finishing second in the qualification group including Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In their first participation, they finished third in their four-team group which included South Korea, Yemen and Vietnam.
In September 2011 for its AFC U-16 Championship qualification campaign, retaining the same 22-player squad that had won the previous year's SAFF U-16 Championship. It finished fourth in its six-team group, securing wins against Maldives (4–0)[1] and Afghanistan (3–1), but losing against Kuwait (0–2), United Arab Emirates (0–2), and Yemen (0–4).
SAFF U-17 Championship
editPakistan participated in the inaugural SAFF U-16 Championship held in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2011 with Sajjad Mehmood as the head coach, Hassan Baloch as manager and Munir Aftab as the captain.[2][3][4] It beat India 1–0 in its first match, before winning 6–0 versus Maldives to reach the semi-finals. Two late goals helped it beat Bangladesh, and thus qualify for the final, in which it beat India 2–1 to win the tournament. Mohammad Bilal was the tournament's top goalscorer with 4 goals,[2] while striker Mansoor Khan was declared the tournament's best player.[3] Overall, Pakistan scored 11 goals and conceded only one.
The under-16 team participated in the 2013 SAFF U-16 Championship held in Nepal, where it was eliminated in the group stage after finishing third in its group after 0–0 draws against both Afghanistan and Bhutan,[5][6] and a 0–3 loss to Nepal. Sajjad Mehmood was the coach for these fixtures.
The team withdrew from the 2015 SAFF U-16 Championship due to conflicts among the government and the Pakistan Football Federation.[7]
In October 2018, the under-15 team participated in the 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship held in Nepal.[8] After victories against India, Bhutan and Nepal,[9] until finishing runner-up in the final against Bangladesh, the team drew by 1–1 draw until finally losing in the penalty shootout.[10][11][12] The team also participated in the 2020 AFC U-16 Championship qualification in 2019.[13][14]
Other tournaments
editIn March 2012, the Pakistan national under-16 team then participated in the 2012 KPT Challenge Cup as "National Youth B". Drawn into a group with senior teams WAPDA and Pakistan Navy, the young team lost 0–3 against the former, and 0–2 against the latter. In May, it participated in the National Under-22 Football Championship, where it drew 0–0 against Baloch Nushki and 1–1 against Sindh, thus topping group B. In the semi-finals, the youth team lost 0–2 against Pakistan Army.
In July 2012, three under-16 players went to Abu Dhabi for a month-long training camp at the Manchester United Soccer Schools.[15]
Coaching staff
edit- As of September 2024[16]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sajjad Mehmood
|
| Assistant coach | Hassan Baloch
|
| Goalkeeping coach | Noman Ibrahim
|
Players
editU-16 last squad
edit- The 23-man squad was call-up for the 2024 SAFF U-17 Championship[17]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Ghulam Abbas | POPO FC
| ||||
| GK | Aadil Ali Khan | Mehran FC
| ||||
| GK | Kashif Ibrahim |
| ||||
| DF | Muhammad Husnain | Mehran FC
| ||||
| DF | Abdul Rehman | POPO FC
| ||||
| DF | Najeem Khan | POPO FC
| ||||
| DF | Sameer Ahmed |
| ||||
| DF | Ubaidullah Khan (Captain) | Muslim Hands FC
| ||||
| DF | Majid Ali |
| ||||
| DF | Muhammad Aabis Raza | POPO FC
| ||||
| DF | Umar Javed | POPO FC
| ||||
| DF | Sayyam Chaudhry |
| ||||
| MF | Abdul Samad | POPO FC
| ||||
| MF | Muhammad Faraz | POPO FC
| ||||
| MF | Haroon Rashed | POPO FC
| ||||
| MF | Muhammed Farhad |
| ||||
| MF | Khobaib Khan | POPO FC
| ||||
| MF | Muhammad Khan | Muslim Hands FC
| ||||
| MF | Shahab Ahmed | POPO FC
| ||||
| MF | Hikmatullah |
| ||||
| FW | Abdul Ghani | Karachi United
| ||||
| FW | Muhammad Talha Khan | Gladiators FC
| ||||
| FW | Subhan Karim |
| ||||
| FW | Sharaf Khan | Pak Afghan FC
| ||||
Results and fixtures
editThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss
2024
edit| 21 September 2024 2024 SAFF U17 GS | Nepal  | 0–1 | Pakistan | Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan |
| 14:00 | Report | Muhammad Talha  81' |
Stadium: Changlimithang Stadium Attendance: 60 Referee: Sashanka Madushanka (Sri Lanka) |
| 23 September 2024 2024 SAFF U17 GS | Bhutan  | 3–3 | Pakistan | Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan |
| 18:00 | Thinley Yeszer 25' Tandin Phuntsho 90+4'Sonam Dorji 90+6' (pen.) |
Report | Khobaib Khan 38' Subhan Karim 47'Sharaf Khan 68' |
Stadium: Changlimithang Stadium Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Md Symoon Hasan Sany (Bangladesh) |
| 25 September 2024 2024 SAFF U17 GS | Pakistan | 5–1 |  Sri Lanka | Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan |
| 14:00 | Subhan Karim 20', 36' Muhammad Talha 30'Abdul Ghani 56'Abdul Samad 67' |
Report |
|
Stadium: Changlimithang Stadium Referee: Zaheer Hussain (Maldives) |
| 28 September 2024 2024 SAFF U17 SF | Pakistan | 2–2 (7–8 p) |  Bangladesh | Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan |
| 17:00 | M Shahab Ahmed 32' Abdul Rehman 62' (pen.) |
Report | Md Manik 74', 90+4' |
Stadium: Changlimithang Stadium Attendance: 40 Referee: Pema Tshewang (Bhutan) |
| Penalties | ||||
Abdul Rehman  Abdul Samad Syed Muhammad Aabis Reza kazmi Khobaib Khan Ubaid Ullah Khan Majid Ali Sharaf Khan Abdul Ghaani  |
Md Murshed Ali Md Joy Ahmed Md Kamal Merdha Md Siam Omit Md Manik Akash Ahamad Md Mithu Chowdhury Ashikur Rahman |
|||
Competition records
editFIFA U-17 World Cup
edit| FIFA U-17 World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
 1985
to |
did not qualify | |||||||
 2015
to
|
did not enter | |||||||
| 2023
|
did not enter | |||||||
 2025
|
to be determined | |||||||
| Total | 0/20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
AFC U-17 Asian Cup
edit| AFC U-17 Asian Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| 1985
to
|
did not enter | |||||||
 1992
|
did not qualify | |||||||
| 1994
|
did not enter | |||||||
 1996
| ||||||||
| 1998
|
did not qualify | |||||||
 2000
| ||||||||
 2002
|
Group Stage | 10th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
 2004
|
did not enter | |||||||
 2006
to |
did not qualify | |||||||
 2016
to |
did not enter | |||||||
| Total | 1/18 | – | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
SAFF U-16 Championship
edit| SAFF U-15/16/17 Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts / Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
| 2011 |
Champions |
1/6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 2013 |
Group Stage |
5/7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015 |
Withdrew | 0/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 |
did not enter | 0/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 |
Runners-up | 2/6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| 2019 |
did not enter | 0/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 |
did not enter | 0/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 |
Semi-Final | 3/6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| 2024 |
Semi-Final | 3/7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| Total | 5/9 | 1 Title | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 15 |
Honours
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Pakistan U-16 crush Maldives 4-0". The Express Tribune. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ a b "'More international exposure will prepare U-16 boys for senior team'". Dawn. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Pakistan U-16 defy all odd to win SAFF U-16 Football Championship final". Dawn. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ "Pakistan footballer Munir Aftab passes away". www.geosuper.tv. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Raheel, Natasha (20 July 2013). "Pakistan record goalless draw in opener". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Raheel, Natasha (22 July 2013). "Pakistan succumb to another draw". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Wasim, Umaid (16 July 2015). "Hayat blames govt for abrupt SAFF U-16 withdrawal". Dawn. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Pak colts leave for Nepal to feature in SAFF U15 C'ship". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ "Mohib steers Pakistan into SAFF U-15 Cup final". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Pakistan reach SAFF Under-15 C'ship final". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ "Pakistan lost SAFF U-15 C'ship final on penalties to Bangladesh". The Nation. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ natasha.raheel (3 November 2018). "Saff U15 Championship: Pakistan lose to Bangladesh in final". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ "Young Pakistani footballers get warm welcome in Saudi Arabia". Arab News. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Pak U16s leave for AFC C'ship 2020 Qualifiers". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Raheel, Natasha (3 July 2012). "Feature: Under-16 footballers dreaming big". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ "Squad named for SAFF U17 Championship in Bhutan". thenews.com.pk. 16 September 2024.
- ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (17 September 2024). "Pakistan U-17 football team head to Bhutan". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 17 September 2024.