Entertainment

Pakistan gear up for historic clash against Saudi Arabia

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

AL-AHSA, SAUDI ARABIA: In a first, Pakistan will today take on Saudi Arabia in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the first time in its footballing history, reported The News on Thursday.

The historic game will be played at the Al-Fateh Stadium at 7:30 pm local time.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last played against each other in 1978 at the latter’s home which the Green Shirts were humiliated 6-0.

Jordan and Tajikistan are the other teams in Pakistan’s group.

These four teams will play against each other home and away, the top two nations will progress to the third round while the last two teams qualify for the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers. Being a host country of the 2027 Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia have already qualified for the continent’s major showpiece event.

Pakistan team since its arrival in Saudi Arabi on November 11 has held six training sessions at the Al-Fateh Stadium’s reserve venue. They were joined by their foreign-based players who came in two different groups.

England-based winger Imran Kayani had joined the team in Islamabad and was part of all the training sessions held in the federal capital under English coach Stephen Constantine. The Whitehawk FC player is likely to make his international debut today.

According to team sources, overseas players Harun Hamid, Yousuf Butt, Abdullah Iqbal and Abdul Samad arrived in Saudi Arabia two days ago while Otis Khan and Rahis Nabi checked in at the hotel on Tuesday.

Coach Constantine on Wednesday said that they expect a tough match against the hosts.

“There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia are a tough side and we will try to make our best effort against them,” he said during a pre-match news conference at the Al-Fateh Sports Club.

He said that the time was short for preparation but whatever time they had at their disposal they tried to prepare well.

“We had a few good days here and a week at Islamabad and hopefully we will put in our best,” Stephen said.

He said that Pakistan will badly miss their defender Easah Suliman who has been ruled out for a few weeks due to an injury which he developed while playing in the Azerbaijan league. Constantine refused to disclose who will lead the side.

“When one is down the other comes to take his place,” he said.

The coach sees the game as a big opportunity for Pakistani players to attract foreign scouts.

“They have to play well and when they do well then definitely they may get offers from professional clubs but it’s a great honour to represent one’s country first,” Constantine said.

The second round matches will be held in three phases with the second phase and third phase to be held in March and June respectively.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia have injury woes of their own as Al-Hilal’s winger Salem Al-Dawsari was ruled out of both the games against Pakistan and Jordan due to an ankle injury.

Saudi Arabia’s Italian coach Roberto Mancini said that his team is ready for the show.

“It’s a first official game for us in the Qualifiers. We are ready and you know the first game is always difficult,” Mancini told the news conference.

“I think it is time to put youngsters in the team for the future because we saw many players in three months. And we believe that we have a good young players for the future and it’s important to give them a chance in the important game,” Mancini said.

“My target is to try to play good football. we started well but we played against tough teams and in future this team will progress well,” he said. Since taking charge as Saudi Arabia’s head coach last August his charges have lost three matches of the four they have played. He said that Saudi Arabia will not take Pakistan lightly.

Pakistan squad:

Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt, Salman-Ul-Haq, Hassan Ali

Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal, Haseeb Khan, Mamoon Moosa Khan, Mohibullah, Muhammad Sohail, Muhammad Saddam, Junaid Shah, Rao Umar Hayat, Muhammad Hamza Munir

Midfielders: Rahis Nabi, Alamgir Ghazi, Rajab Ali, Ali Uzair, Imran Kiyani, Harun Hamid

Forwards: Shayak Dost, Otis Khan, Fareed Ullah, Abdul Samad Arshad, Muhammad Waleed Khan, Adeel Younas

Officials: Stephen Constantine (head coach), Rogerio Ramos (goalkeeper coach), Claudio Altieri (performance coach), Muhammad Ali Khan (manager), Azam Khan (doctor), Muhammad Abdullah (physio), Haider Ali (media), Abdul Qayyum (masseur).

Entertainment

Aryan Khan’s Netflix debut web series is announced by Shah Rukh Khan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The premiere web series of Aryan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan’s firstborn son, will be available for streaming on Netflix India starting next year, the streaming service formally announced on social media Tuesday night.

Aryan is the director and creator of the untitled “one-of-a-kind series” about Bollywood, which is produced by SRK’s wife Gauri Khan. “Explore Bollywood like never before… on Netflix,” they stated.

For the series, Red Chillies Entertainment, owned by Khan, collaborates with Netflix.

The “multi-genre” show is said to be set against the backdrop of the glamorous film industry and “promises an unabashed, entertaining ride through the adventures of a charming, ambitious outsider navigating the glitzy yet tricky world of Bollywood,” though cast details are still unknown.

“We are thrilled to present this new series with Netflix that offers a refreshing look into the glamorous cinematic world and what it takes to succeed as an outsider,” the “Jawan” actor said in reference to the production.

“The team at Red Chillies Entertainment, along with Aryan and numerous enthusiastic minds, have brought this unique story to life.” “This one will be full of heart, hustle, and entertainment,” he continued.

Monika Shergill, the programming head for Netflix India, said, “Aryan takes a bold and dynamic approach to directing and has produced something genuinely unique and incredibly entertaining.” “We can’t wait for our members to watch it because it builds on our shared passion for outstanding storytelling and new voices.”

Entertainment

Aamir Khan declared his retirement from the film industry.

Published

1 week ago

Farwa

Aamir Khan, a prominent actor and director with over 35 years of service in Bollywood, revealed that he nearly withdrew from his work a few years ago, but his family persuaded him to reconsider this choice.

In a recent joint interview with his former spouse Kiran Rao, Khan stated, “I resolved to resign prior to Laal Singh Chadha.” I was undergoing a personal journey.

“As the Covid pandemic waned, I abruptly recognised that I have devoted the majority of my adult life, from the age of 18 to the present, entirely to cinema and films.” Consequently, I perceived that I had not sufficiently supported my connections with my children, siblings, and family. Regardless of whether it was Kiran or Reena during my marriage to them. He articulated that he believed he had not sufficiently supported these individuals. I experienced significant shame and was dissatisfied with my actions. Having completed numerous films over the past 35 years, I can now concentrate on my family.

The ‘Taare Zameen Par’ actor recalled the moment he informed his family of the news. He remembered, “I gathered my family and expressed my desire to abandon my film career to spend time with all of you.” My reaction was not due to any disappointment with the film.

“Junaid and Ira, his elder children from his first wife Reena Dutta, persuaded me to continue.” Junaid enquired, ‘Why must you oscillate between extremes?’ There exists an intermediary space in which one can reside. They elucidated that to me, and I returned. Khan disclosed that no one was aware of his resignation, ultimately stating, “No tangible outcome resulted from it.” It was merely my individual path.

Aamir Khan will next appear in the self-produced film ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, alongside Genelia Deshmukh and Darsheel Safary. The spiritual successor to ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007) is set for theatrical release on December 25.

Entertainment

Pink is Yumna Zaidi’s favorite color.

Published

2 weeks ago

Farwa

After proving herself in a number of roles, Pakistani actress Yumna Zaidi is rightfully considered a household name in Hollywood.

The “Zara Yaad Kar” starlet enthusiastically shared new images on Instagram. She wears something pink in the clips. Their distinctive posing style is one of the images’ strongest qualities.

The photographs all have their own unique style. “The Waris Shah’s Heer” is the title of the book she is seen carrying in one of the clicks.

She captioned the photo with: “Today’s wellness was Pink.”

Many gushed fans shared their thoughts in the comments area after being utterly enchanted. A user gushed, calling it “Gorgeous.” Along with the starlet’s compliments, another user dropped a slew of emojis.

Yumna has amassed more than 9.4 million Instagram followers as a result of her steadfast dedication to her career.