The international window, which ran from March 23-31, saw Pakistan’s football team play one match; that was on the very first day and was the second leg of their first-round qualifier for the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Yemen.

Having lost 3-1 in the away leg played in Doha – due to the political insurgency in Yemen – on March 12, Pakistan were due to host the second leg at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore five days later.

But the day Yemen arrived; twin suicide attacks on churches in the city’s Youhanabad neighbourhood left the chances of the game being held in the Punjab capital hanging by a thread.

Yemen did train at the Punjab Stadium on the eve of the game, but FIFA intervened and it was later decided that the second leg would also be played on neutral territory – at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Bahrain’s Isa Town on March 23.

Needing a 2-0 result to progress to the second round of qualifiers, where the big guns of Asian football like Japan, Australia and Iran were to join in, the Shaheens could only manage a goalless draw.

Pakistan’s journey to Russia thus ended in the first round. They are left with another four years to ponder where they faltered, but for Pakistan skipper Hassan Bashir, who plays for Danish second-division side Svebolle, enough is enough.

“Biggest disappointment in my footballing life,” Hassan wrote on his Facebook page. “We’re already out of the race for 2018.

“This was a big opportunity for Pakistan to play against the giants in Asia such as Japan, South Korea and Iran but we failed. It would have been priceless exposure for us players.

“We could have prevented all of this if our heads [Pakistan Football Federation (PFF)] could have planned better. If we didn’t choose to play only youth games or unofficial games in 2014, we would have never been in this situation.”

The lack of international matches caused Pakistan to fall in the FIFA rankings, and being ranked amongst the bottom 12 teams of Asia, was forced to enter the qualifiers in the first round.

It would’ve been a busy international window this, had the bombings in Youhanabad not taken place.

The U-23 team would’ve been involved in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers, facing the likes of Kuwait, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan in Group ‘B’ in Lahore, but security concerns forced the AFC to change the venue and the dates.

But with four years to go before qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup begins, the PFF can now focus on using the international window more effectively by arranging friendly matches for the team, so it avoids the situation it faced this year.

Bahraini head coach Mohammed Al Shamlan has already made it clear he will not stay with the team once his contract expires in June.

The PFF has big decisions to make. Having had coaches from Europe in the past, maybe it is time the PFF experiments with a South American coach. How about a Brazilian coach for that matter?

Dunga's Selecao getting desired results

Dunga was at the Estadio Mineirao, working as an expert for Brazilian television, when Brazil were being thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-final in July.

Reporters circled around him at the media centre for a ‘golden’ quote after the game, but Dunga wouldn’t budge, a quality he demands of Brazil.

Made Brazil's coach for a second time, his task was to pick up a side that had been relegated to its lowest ebb. His Selecao may not play the ‘Joga Bonito’ but he’s had eight straight victories since replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari in the hot seat.

The Brazilians, on their tour of Europe during the international window, beat France 3-1 at the Stade de France in Paris on Thursday before a 1-0 win against Chile at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday.

The Paris win would certainly have given Dunga some pleasure. It was at the very same stadium where as Brazil captain, he’d seen his side outclassed 3-0 by France in the 1998 World Cup final.

Brilliant performance by Neymar and Willian were key to Brazil’s win, the Barcelona star being amongst the scorers alongside Oscar and Luiz Gustavo.

Brazil were using the international window as preparation for the Copa America from June 11 to July 4, and they showed their new found resoluteness when Robert Firmino’s superb individual effort helped them to victory against the tournament hosts in London.

And Dunga’s work has not gone unnoticed.