Pakistan head coach Nolberto Solano admitted his players failed to match India’s intensity in their SAFF Championship opener on Thursday, but refused to blame travel problems for the defeat.
Pakistan suffered a 3-2 loss to defending champions India at the National Stadium in Dhaka. They conceded three goals in the first half before scoring twice in stoppage time.
Speaking after the match, Solano said his team had started slowly and allowed India to take control.
“I believe the first half we didn’t start that well, was a little bit slow. And India took the chances, every chance we gave away they took,” he said.
“But I’m pleased with the reaction in the second half. Maybe a little bit late, we should react a little bit earlier.”
The former Newcastle United midfielder also raised concerns about the fitness of his players. He said many Pakistani footballers do not get enough regular competitive matches.
“We are failing physically, we need to be more strong. You can tell today the Indian team never stopped running,” Solano said.
He also pointed out that Pakistan were missing six or seven important players because of scheduling problems.
Solano revealed that his team had endured a difficult journey to Bangladesh. They arrived in Dhaka at around 3am on Wednesday and could not train because their luggage and equipment had not arrived.
“I don’t like to make excuses but it was quite a long journey,” he said.
However, he insisted that the problems before the match could not justify his team’s poor performance. Solano was particularly disappointed with the defensive mistakes that allowed India to build a comfortable lead.
“The first two, three goals from India were too easy. We were sleeping,” he said.
Pakistan will now face the Maldives on Sunday in a match they must win to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
“The only chance we have to stay alive in this competition is to win,” Solano said.
He added that the players needed time to recover before preparing for their next opponents.
“We all are angry. We just need to analyse the match and see what we can do for the next match,” he said.
