Pakistan will face Spain in the quarter-finals of the Junior Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today (Tuesday).
Pakistan captain Abdul Hanan Shahid was confident that his side can beat Spain.
“If Pakistan plays to the best of their ability, I have no doubt that we will beat Spain and qualify for the semi-finals,” said Shahid. “We will try not to repeat the mistakes we made against Belgium.”
Meanwhile, drag flicker Arbaz Ahmad hoped to keep the tempo intact going into the crucial match against Spain.
“If we play according to the laid down plan chalked up by our head coach, we would be in a position to make the difference. So far we have successfully followed the instructions finalized for the team by the head coach. I have worked hard on my penalty corner conversion and hopefully would be in the best frame of mind to make the difference against Spain,” Arbaz said.
Pakistan will take on Spain at 3:00pm (Pakistan Standard Time).
Pakistan qualified for the quarter-finals after levelling their third game in the group stage by 1-1 against Belgium.
The Boys in Green came from behind after Belgium scored a goal in the first quarter. Arbaz scored from the penalty corner in the third quarter to put Pakistan back in the game.
Pakistan squad
Ali Raza (Goalkeeper), Arbaz Ahmad, Sufyan Khan, Ghazanfar, Murtaza Yaqoob, Zikriya Hayat, Arshad Liaqat, Abdul Rehman, Hanan Shahid (Captain), Abuzar, Arbaz Ayaz, Abdul Rafay (Goalkeeper), Abdul Manan, M Ammad, Ahtisham, Basharat Ali, Aqeel Ahmed, Ali Murtaza, Umer Mustafa, and Abdul Qayyum.
