Zesh Rehman - International Career

International Career

Rehman originally represented England, and played for them at under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels. Becoming the first English-born Pakistani to don an England senior football shirt seemed too far away, however, due to lack of first team opportunities at Fulham. Due to his Pakistani parentage, and because he possessed dual Pakistani and British nationality, Rehman also qualified to represent Pakistan, and he eventually opted to play for them, as he considered it to be a more realistic option. A lot of British Asian groups were against this and wanted him to fight more for an England place to set a standard for English-Asian youth.

It was, however, an unrealistic aspiration. With that in mind, and with the blessings of his father, Rehman made his international debut for Pakistan in a 1–0 win over Sri Lanka in the 2005 South Asian Football Federation Championship on 7 December 2005 at the Peoples Football Stadium in Karachi. Rehman described his international debut as one of the best memories he has in football, adding, "The reception I received from the first moment till the last was unforgettable. I felt loved, appreciated, respected and wanted and most of all the interest in football really grew immensely." Pakistan ultimately reached the semi-finals before losing out to Bangladesh 1–0.

In that short space of time Rehman helped to raise the profile of the game in Pakistan, encouraging youngsters to play the game and also help to raise the profile of Pakistan in the United Kingdom and on a global stage.

Rehman was named in the Pakistan squad for the World Cup 2010 qualifiers against Iraq in October 2007, and played the match in Lahore but could not help contain the current Asian champions Iraq from winning 7–0. In the second leg on 28 October he captained Pakistan to a 0–0 draw.

Due to club commitments and injury he had to miss out on the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers for Pakistan, a situation that proved costly for the national team as defensive blunders cost them the chance of qualifying despite a promising start to the campaign. He also had to withdraw from the squad for the SAFF Championship 2008 when he came down with food poisoning.

After nearly four years out, Rehman returned to the Pakistan team for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers where he played twice.

Rehman caused some controversy in 2007 when in an interview with the British weekly newspaper the Eastern Eye he said that players of Asian descent should consider sticking to their roots rather than dreaming of playing for England. Rehman pointed to Michael Chopra, then with Cardiff City, who had been overlooked to play for England despite being the top scorer in the Championship, yet David Nugent, who was then at fellow Championship club Preston North End, was picked. Rehman claimed "Why wasn’t (Chopra) picked ahead of Dave Nugent? He’s the top goal scorer in the Championship but he can’t get in (the England set-up). So he needs to maybe look at his decision and go play for India instead of hanging on to the dream of playing for England, because it’s not going to happen, end of discussion." Rehman though criticised Eastern Eye for how they reported his views, saying, "I’m pleased with my decision (to play for Pakistan) but I had a problem, especially with Eastern Eye. You said I turned my back on England. I didn’t like the way that came across. If you are not getting opportunities (to play for England) when you are playing in the Premier League, then Asian players are always going to be overlooked. When it comes to it, they need to stick to their roots."