https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/sport/20241206/bkn-20241206113849252-1206_00882_001.html Michael has withdrawn from HK NT due to injury, Poon Pui-Hin has been picked to replace him.
Ng Yu Hei (and to an extent Tim Chow) needs to get out of HK and play in a league / team that better develops talent! ASAP!
In addition to YAPP Hung Fai winning his 100th international cap, the HK national team's E-1 EAFF East Asia Cup preliminary qualifiers had gotten off to a winning start as they cruised three past Mongolia with goals from Everton Camargo, Wong Wai and a first goal for Nicholas Benavides. They will play Chinese Taipei in their next match which will be a crucial game as they will need a win in order to secure a place to play either Macau or Guam in the final. Speaking of Ng Yu Hei, there is current rumour speculation that Leicester City are monitoring his progress.
It was an okay win. Everton Carmago made one goal and one assist in the first half then he was replaced by Awal for the second half. Then Awal made one assist and should have scored one himself. Everton does need some rest after playing so many games recently. Wong Wai did quite good in attacking midfield. His vision, distribution and eye for goal was good in this match. Hopefully he can do it against Chinese Taipei. We will see how Chinese Taipei perform against Mongolia in a couple of days.
The 2027 AFC Asian Cup third round qualification draws took place today and the Hong Kong national football team are grouped with India, Singapore and Bangladesh for a place in the finals. Feel this is a fair group.
India clearly is not an easy away game. Singapore will not be easy either given how Lee Man struggled against Tampines Rovers and Lion City Sailors are doing quite well in the same competition. Bangladesh is kinda unknown to us but clearly we cannot underestimate them, especially away. Westwood used to coach clubs in India so he should know about the football scene over there. That maybe an advantage for us.
Will say that if there is any Singapore player the national team should be wary of would be Ikshan Fandi who is remembered when he scored an absolute screamer against Kitchee a few years ago back during the AFC Champions League Round of 16. Actually I do recall that the HK national team did play against Bangladesh way back during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in which they achieved two wins with Chan Siu Ki (in the away fixture) and Guy Gerard Ambassa (in the home fixture) scored the goals. But other than that, I still think the national team will get a result against Bangladesh at home and whilst it is hard to say how well they will fair during the away tie, like you said, I don't think they should underestimate them, but I do predict that Westwood's side will prevail. Adding to that Westwood also previously coached the Afghanistan football team that stunned India with an infamous away win during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers back in June. Whilst I do believe that this is the best possible group that Ashley Westwood and the HK national football team can be in which they may have a fair chance of qualifying for the 2027 finals, but I just hope that Westwood plans everything well for the future fixtures.
https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports...a-hk-and-bangladesh-2027-asian-cup-qualifiers The Lions will fancy their chances of a maiden Asian Cup qualification after getting a kind draw for the third round of qualifiers, when they were pulled into Group C alongside India, Hong Kong and Bangladesh. Hong Kong are the second-lowest ranked side in Pot 2, but have been hard to beat for the Lions, who last recorded a victory over them in 2012 and have won just five of their 25 encounters, most of which were tight affairs. ====================================================== Singapore is similarly bullish about their chances of qualifying for the Asian Cup.
If we have our normal squad players back, meaning at least 2-3 out of Tan Chun Lok, Sun Ming Him, Yue Tsz Nam, Shinichi Chan, and Vas Nunez, then I think we have a decent chance of qualifying. By the way, are there any notable naturalization players for 2025?
It is going to be a do or die situation as Ashley Westwood's side will certainly need a win if they were to advance to the finals. I just hope that Westwood has a plan in place for Saturday's important tie.
Chinese Taipei hold the tiebreaker, which is not ideal, but they also have two less days to prepare. I wasn't as enamoured as some of you were with how they played. When you watch the tape back, you'll find little mistakes that the Mongolians didn't capitalize on such as the one below: We have to press the Taiwanese as I have no doubt the Taiwanese will press us. If we can win the ball back high, eventually the ball will find its way to Juninho or Everton.
And Juninho and Everton will do what exactly? They rarely link up against decent opposition. Also Gary White is not stupid, he will know to instruct his defenders to watch the duo. I am not being pessimistic, just cautious. It is not going to be an easy game on Saturday night by any stretch of the imagination.
By the way, the new 50,000 capacity Kai Tak Stadium is almost ready and it will host the Hong Kong Sevens Rugby tournament in March. I say let's host the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against India here next June. HKFA should sell its tickets at a low price so the HK fans can fill the stadium and create a hell like atmosphere to scare the Indian players and help us win the match.
I think Everton is certainly a player that will provide the attacking threat and has been finding himself on the scoresheet since October. Like someone already stated above, Gary White is not someone to be underestimated considering that he knows how to motivate his players. I do hope that Westwood did his homework and gets his players well prepped up if he plays his cards right on the day in which I hope they can pull it off this Saturday even though it will not be a simple task.
...Score? The Cambodian team that we beat in October drew Malaysia on Sunday and were unlucky not to get a result against the Singapore. The Filipino side that just drew Indonesia is weaker than the one we beat 3-1 in November as they're missing Jefferson Tabinas. Both of those teams are similar or better than Chinese Taipei. Everton and Juninho both either scored or assisted other players in both of those games. Who said it was going to be easy? You're acting like it's a 50-50 game. It's not. It's closer to 55-45 in favour on HK because of the home advantage and the two extra days of preparation.
You. Chinese Taipei did also beat Singapore away which even China could not do in a competitive match. It maybe 55-45 on paper, but anything can happen. Chinese Taipei will probably sit back and soak up all the pressure, then try to beat us with a counter punch later on. We do have SLOW defenders. Any coach worth his salt knows this. My lack of faith is in our coach Ashley Westwood, not in the players. Westwood just does not inspire confidence. If Andersen was still in charge then I would not be so concerned.
We actually don't disagree as much as you think, especially on this point. Gary White's reputation doesn't depend on tomorrow's result, but Westwood's does.
https://www.thestandard.com.hk/brea...-pre-season-friendlies-in-Hong-Kong-next-year Liverpool could play pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong next year English Premier League giant Liverpool FC could be flying into Hong Kong next year as part of their Asia pre-season tour. According to reports, Liverpool FC are in talks to play friendly matches in the city and Japan next summer preparing ahead for their 2025-26 season. The Hong Kong venue is likely to be the new 50,000-seater main stadium in Kai Tak Sports Park. The Premier League leaders last visited Hong Kong in the summer of 2017 when they faced Crystal Palace and Leicester City in the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Westwood has had a very rocky start, not helped by the fact that his public persona seems to be a lot less friendly / approachable than Andersen. I hope he understands the weight of tomorrow's match not just in the context of qualifying for the EAFF, but the relationship and expectations of the fans, Gary White, etc. I only watched bits of the Taipei match. I find that Chris Tiao is probably their best player; their newly naturalized forwards I would compare to Awal or McKee or Akande. Decently fast paced and strong, but let's see how they do against proper defenders. I expect them to give us a scare or two with their runs but ultimately their finishing will let them down.
I just hope that the defenders put on their best defensive display as well as being are well aware and alert of Ange Koume and Benchy Estama (as well as other potential threats) on the night.
It will be Ashley Westwood's Hong Kong side that will progress onward as they scraped past a ruthless Chinese Taipei side led by former manager Gary White. Matt Orr opened the scoring on the 19th minute to give the home side the lead before Yu Yao-Hsing gave Chinese Taipei the equaliser ten minutes later in which both sides ended the first half with a draw. It wasn't until the 86th minute when super Tsui Wang Kit scored the winner from a converted corner kick to restore Hong Kong's lead in which the team managed to held on until the final whistle. They will take on Guam who narrowly bested Macau in an earlier fixture on Tuesday for a place in next year's EAFF E-1 East Asia Cup finals.
My favourite part is when the Taiwanese captain faked an injury and asked to be stretchered off, only to watch HK score the equalizer and celebrate in front of him. Fernando was my MOTM. Maybe his finest performance in a HK shirt.