Pakistan national football team

Pakistan
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Shaheens (شاہین)
(The Falcons)
AssociationPakistan Football Federation (PFF)
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationSAFF (South Asia)
Head coachStephen Constantine
CaptainEasah Suliman
Most capsHaroon Yousaf (51)
Top scorerMuhammad Essa (11)
Home stadiumJinnah Stadium
FIFA codePAK
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 197 Steady (19 September 2024)[1]
Highest141 (February 1994[2])
Lowest205 (June 2019)
First international
 Iran 5–1 Pakistan 
(Tehran, Iran; 27 October 1950)
Biggest win
 Pakistan 7–0 Thailand 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 5 August 1960)[3]
 Pakistan 9–2 Guam 
(Taipei, Taiwan; 6 April 2008)[4]
 Pakistan 7–0 Bhutan 
(Dhaka, Bangladesh; 8 December 2009)[5]
Biggest defeat
 Iran 9–1 Pakistan 
(Tehran, Iran; 12 March 1969)
 Pakistan 0–8 Iraq 
(Amman, Jordan; 28 May 1993)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2006)
Best resultGroup stage (2006)
Asian Games
Appearances5 (first in 1954)
Best resultSixth place (1954)
SAFF Championship
Appearances12 (first in 1993)
Best resultThird place (1997)
Websitepff.com.pk Edit this at Wikidata

The Pakistan national football team (Urdu: پاکستان قومی فٹ بال ٹیم) represents Pakistan in men's international football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 1948 and joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1950.

Pakistan's national team debuted in 1950 and has yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals. Pakistan has never qualified for any major tournament outside the South Asian region, although on regional level the team has won the 1952 Colombo Cup, and has achieved gold at the South Asian Games in 1989 and 1991. Pakistan had a brief period of emergence in the 1950s and early 1960s, but as the global popularity of football surged, the sport’s standing in Pakistan deteriorated. The standard achieved in the early years could not be maintained because of lack of organization of the game and the administration’s lack of attention to football.[7] Football has also struggled to gain popularity in Pakistan largely due to the heavy influence of cricket in South Asia.[8]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  2. ^ "FIFA". Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  3. ^ FIFA.com. "Live Scores - Pakistan - Matches". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016.
  4. ^ FIFA.com. "Live Scores - Pakistan - Matches". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016.
  5. ^ FIFA.com. "Live Scores - Pakistan - Matches". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016.
  6. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Rising Popularity of Football in Pakistan Reflects Growing Interest in the Sport". Daily Times. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  8. ^ Sohail, Shahrukh (1 November 2020). "Football: Soccer's Scoreless Sheet". Dawn. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.