Vas Nunez who was recently released by Dalian Pro is set to join Matt Orr's former club Guangxi in China League One with Orr heading to newly promoted Sichuan Juniu FC. On the other hand, Au Yeung Yiu Chung has been re-signed by BC Rangers.
Transfers: Kitchee have signed 23 year old Bosnian Sedin Ranic who can play as a centre back position. Kim Dong-Jin described Ranic as "a young and promising player, his ability can complement other defenders of the squad. His arrival can also enhance the flexibility and depth, allowing rotation of the backline to face different opponents and situations." If Ranic does very well, I could see him suceed Helio and Russell. KC Southern have added Hong Kong youngster Leung Yau Wai who had previously played in various overseas based clubs from Portugal, Thailand and Japan. Leung had won several Under-23 caps for Hong Kong. Former Kitchee youngster Ellison Tsang Yi Hang has joined FC United of Manchester which plays in the same league and division as Sean Tse's Radcliffe FC.
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football...-guns-says-andersen-after-saudi-arabia-defeat Hong Kong was beaten 0-2 by Saudi Arabia but Jorn Andersen is now confident Hong Kong can compete with the best of them at the AFC Asian Cup.
40 year old Huang Yang had announced his retirement from international football. Huang had represented Hong Kong since 2012 won 71 international caps and scored 1 goal in his international career.
Wow. A Li and Gerbig CB pairing was not what I expected..! I guess Jorn didnt plan for it, injuries happen!
Full-Time: Hong Kong Vs UAE - 1:3 Hong Kong's first Asian Cup tie ended with a loss as UAE took the win which had seen a load of harsh VAR decisions. Oliver Gerbig's handball gave UAE the penalty which gave them the lead in the first half and then scored two more in the second half despite Philip Chan Siu Kwan scoring a goal back to give something Hong Kong fans can cheer about. There was quite a load of late drama in the final minutes in which Michael Udebuluzor's goal was disallowed after a VAR check.
Was really surprised by lively Hong Kong. That game could have gone either way so was very unlucky. The last game against Palestine will be interesting as a win there could see you through as a third place team
Thanks for the kind comment. Unfortunately, realistically we needed 4 points to qualify as third place, and chances of getting 1 point against Iran are not good to say the least...
To be fair, whilst UAE had dominated in possession wise, it was still a spirited performance by Jorn Andersen's side even though I still feel there were a couple of questionable VAR decisions. I probably don't have much expectations on the team getting a result against Iran which will be tough considering that they did play them last year during the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
It was a very spirited performance by the whole team against UAE and the team was unlucky to give away two penalties. It really could have been 2-2. Yes we lost 0-4 to Iran but we did not have anyone of the naturalized Brazilian players on that occasion. Okay it seems only Everton Carmago and Stefan Pereira will be able to play, but hopefully they will be able to cause the Iran defense some problems to take some pressure off our defense. Against Palestine will be our best hope of gaining a victory but I believe they think the same.
Agree with your analysis. I think we saw that Everton isn't just a good player in the HKPL, he brings that speed, confidence, and X factor against these tough AFC teams too. Plus I think the entire team's conditioning is way better than the Iran away match, they've been training in Qatar for a while now with world class facilities. And I think Helio seems to be back in training, the only doubt now is Juninho. Sean Tse is also available for selection, but I have no idea how his form is. Trust that Jorn has been observing him carefully!
In other news, Li Ngai Hoi announced that he is leaving Rangers, with his future club yet to be announced. Wonder if this has been in the works for a while or whether his spirited performance against the UAE helped him land a new club!
https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/ar...ng-footballers-display-uae-loss-and-citys-use AFC Asian Cup: Chinese social media applauds Hong Kong footballers after UAE loss – and city’s use of foreign-born stars Weibo users say selection of naturalised players who are making an impact for Hong Kong contrasts with those recruited by mainland China ‘[Hong Kong’s] naturalised players had spent years living there,’ one commenter says. ‘Our naturalised players were paid for with substantial money’ Mainland Chinese football fans lauded the performance of Hong Kong despite a 3-1 loss in their opening Asian Cup game against United Arab Emirates on Sunday. Fans suggested that Hong Kong’s national team were on the right track by naturalising foreign-born players while criticising their own Chinese Football Association for its attempts at pursuing that policy in the past. A Weibo user sparked a debate by starting a thread suggesting Hong Kong’s surprisingly competitive performance was based around the naturalised players, and questioned why the same strategy worked less well in mainland China. “Hong Kong’s naturalised players are quite good, they’re even more threatening than UAE when attacking,” one comment said. “[Hong Kong’s] naturalised players had spent years living there,” a user from Liaoning commented. “Our naturalised players were paid for with substantial money. “Just like Ricardo Goulart, returning to Brazil after earning enough and switching back to his original nationality.” Another commenter from Shandong said any naturalisation had been pursued without enough of a plan, other than officials seeking credit for themselves. “They planned for it just on their terms, and the plans became useless once there were personnel changes at the association,” they posted. “Everyone knows from the beginning this was just a matter of emergency treatment, and it was just a flash in the pan for those working on it.” After Philip Chan Siu-kwan scored to equalise for Hong Kong at the Khalifa International Stadium, fans also joked that at least one Chinese team had scored, given the mainland’s 0-0 draw with Tajikistan on Saturday. And after Vietnam, ranked No 94 in the world by Fifa, managed to score twice in a 3-2 loss to Japan, one Chinese fan was concerned beating the Southeast Asian nation would be beyond their side, ranked 79th, who lost 2-1 to 150th-rated Hong Kong in a friendly last week. “We can’t even beat Hong Kong, and you are thinking about Vietnam?” a user from Hunan replied. “You’re rather optimistic.” “We are stagnant but others are running forward,” read another comment. “Vietnam’s technique and tactics are ahead of us by at least two blocks!” Fans also took time to have a dig at China midfielder Dai Wai-tsun. Known as “Tsun Dai” in the UK and “Dai Weijun” in mainland China, he became the first Hong Kong-born footballer to be called up to the China national team since the Hong Kong Football Association joined Fifa in 1954. A Shanghai Shenhua fan said the rise of Hong Kong must have “embarrassed” Dai after his decision to switch allegiance. The 24-year-old was ineffective in China’s drab draw with Tajikistan and was substituted. China will next play Lebanon on Wednesday, before Hong Kong face Iran two days later. ========================================================= Yes, I am similarly impressed by those naturalized players. They do give their best when playing for Hong Kong, despite us not paying them a lot of money, at least not as much as what China is able to pay.
Hong Kong does have quite a history of fielding foreign-born naturalised players from past to present:
UAE 1-1 Palestine I guess this is not a good result for Hong Kong. Anyway Hong Kong will face mighty Iran tonight. I just want to wish the best of luck to our team.
Should hopefully find out who will be in the starting eleven to face Iran within the next hour. Whilst it is not going to be an easy game for Jorn Andersen and his team against Iran, but I do hope that the players can utilise the same spirited performance they had from their previous game and I wish Jorn and his team all the best for tonight.
Here is the starting eleven sheet for both Hong Kong and Iran. It looks like there are two changes from the side that previously started against UAE with Sun Ming Him and Vas Nunez earning a start in place of Poon Pui Hin and Li Ngai Hoi who are both on the substitutes bench. Sean Tse also makes it on the substitutes bench too.
Full Time: Hong Kong Vs Iran - 0:1 Despite another valiant effort by Hong Kong, Jorn's team eventually succumbed to a second defeat with a narrow loss as Iran scored the only goal during the first half. However there will be further questions in regards to the Iranian goalkeeper who seemingly handled the ball outside of his goal line in which I'm surprised how did he not see himself getting red.
Iranian goalkeeper clearly handled the ball outside the penalty area but nothing was done by the referee or the VAR team.