Hong Kong Football Thread II (R)

What is also interesting is that Pong Cheuk Hei made his first start for Kitchee having been sidelined with an injury that ruled him out for a couple of months ahead of Wang Zhenpeng in which I suspect that his first team opportunities could be limited.

You also have to credit Asier Illaramendi as well in which he is starting to thrive for Kitchee.

Kitchee's next fixture will be against North District away which will be a real test for the club and a win could put them even further to the HKPL title race.

 

The 1st leg of the 2026 Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup will be played at home on 28th December with the away tie confirmed for 3rd January.

Might as well be an opportunity for the national team to call upon a fresh batch of players to rebuild their squad.

 

Eastern Sports Club Vs Nam Dinh - 0:9

Well, Eastern's final ACL2 away tie to Nam Dinh ended in a rather heavy and humiliating loss where they conceded nine goals which is by far their worst performance of their campaign.

The team were out thought, out fought, out battled and it was completely hopeless from start to end. The players and manager Roberto Losada cannot simply make anymore excuses for this shambolic performance (and whilst I do acknowledge that the club had faced difficulties with player departures etc but that isn't an excuse anymore.) It just felt like Eastern's entire ACL2 campaign was utterly hopeless from the beginning.

I'm aware that certain fans wanted to have Roberto Losada taking the interim manager job for the HKNT, but after this heavy defeat, I'm not sure if he is a suitable candidate for the role at all.

 

I had a feeling that the announcement was going to be immenent, but after Eastern's heavy defeat last night and especially taking their current season in consideration, I can't say that I have full confidence in Losada's ability as interim head coach at this moment.

In addition, here is the 51-player preliminary squad named for the upcoming Guangdong-HK Cup:

The preliminary sees a couple of players returning to the national team fold that include Leung Nok Hang and Jahangir Khan who were last featured during Jorn Andersen's reign.

There are also a couple of uncapped players named which include first call ups for Kitchee's Jay Haddow and Jason Kam Chi Kin, Kowloon City's Loong Tsz Hin, Eastern's Lau Kwan Ching and Rangers' Fung Kwun Ming.

But there are a couple of players who had been in questionable form who were also named from Nicholas Benavides, Lam Hin Ting and Manuel Bleda.

There is no place for Southern's Stefan Pereira and Mahama Awal whilst Kitchee's Callum Beattie also missed out.

 

Goals from Adrian Revilla and Leandro Martinez put Kitchee seven points clear at the top of table after their win against North District.



Southern managed to secure all three points courtesy of Sohgo Ichikawa's individual goal.



Barak Braunshtain and Poon Pui Hin edged out BC Rangers to secure their three points.



HKFC were not able to continue their momentum from their previous match as a goal from Luizinho gave Kowloon City the win.



After their humiliating campaign during the AFC Champions League 2 tie against Nam Dinh, Eastern stunned Tai Po with goals from Yu Okubo and Marcos Gondra.

 

Here is the final 24 man squad named for the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup:


Kitchee's Jason Kam Chi Kin makes it to the cut for the first time and recent free agent Leung Nok Hang makes his long awaited return having last played in the senior team back during Jorn Andersen's reign.

 

The Asian Football Confederation has announced their own Nations League in hopes of enhancing the development amongst Asian nations.

I'm curious to see how this will be structured whether this will be be adapted into West and East divisional format or follow the routes of UEFA, CONCACAF had already adapted.

I wonder will this benefit for the Hong Kong national team?

 

Kitchee have terminated Kim Shin Wook's contract after he was found to had violated the club's disciplinary code in which they will not make any further statement on the matter.

The former South Korean international who was signed by the club in 2023 from Singapore club Lion City Sailors was supposedly meant to act as Dejan Damjanovic's successor, however he only made seven appearances within the past three seasons which he scored a hat-trick against Hong Kong Football Club as his only highlight. He was then plagued with injuries in 2024 that ruled him out and rumoured to had disciplinary measures for the past few years.


In addition, interim head coach Roberto Losada confirmed that former Hong Kong internationals and assistant coaches of Kitchee and Eastern, Fernando Recio and Cristiano Cordeiro have joined his coaching staff for the national team as they prepare for the first leg of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup on Sunday. KC Southern's Chan Yun Tung who was named in the final squad withdrew due to an injury in which Kitchee's Jay Haddow was named as his replacement.

 

Full Time: Hong Kong Vs Guangdong - 2:2

Roberto Losada's first game in charge as interim coach ended with a draw against Guangdong as they head in to the second leg with a rather tough task away.

Sun Ming Him gave Losada's side the lead during the first half with an absolute rocket from outside of the box. However, the national team then squandered two goals during the early minutes of the second half as a youthful Guangdong team exposed Hong Kong's defending from Chen Wei and Jiang Zhipeng. But Hong Kong pulled a goal back courtesy of Everton who scored from the penalty spot after Juninho was fouled inside the penalty box.

Further drama ensued when two of Guangdong's players were given their marching orders as goalscorer Chen Wei and Huang Zishun recieved red cards that saw their team down to nine men.

Even with the nine men, Hong Kong could not capitalise on the advantage as Guangdong held on for a draw until the final whilstle.

Overall, I'd say it was quite a mediocre performance from the national team. Despite some good moments especially from Sun Ming Him's wonder goal in the first half, the national team and Losada still struggled to provide creativity up front, creating chances and wasted a couple of opportunities even though this is an experimental Hong Kong squad.

 

In other news, Shenzhen Peng City confirmed the departure of Matt Orr in which it has been speculated that he is set to join CSL champions Shanghai Port.

 

Some slight alterations for Hong Kong heading in to their second away tie against Guangdong as Chan Yun Tung makes a return along with Vas Nunez, Cheng Chin Lung and Wong Wai have been named whilst Jason Kam Chi Kin, Ma Hei Wai and Barak Braunshtain all miss out.

 

Full Time: Hong Kong Vs Guangdong - 2:2 (3:4 on PSO)

Despite a better second half display courtesy of goals from Sun Ming Him and Wong Wai, Roberto Losada's side fall in the last hurdle after Dudu and Wong Wai both missed their penalties that led to Hong Kong's extended winless run of the Guangdong-HK Cup for a third consecutive year.

First half felt like a rather dreadful display after Hong Kong couldn't quite capitalise and giving away possession cheaply, creating opportunities up front and their defense leaving too much space that allowed the Guangdong side all the chances they produced.

Overall, I'd say it was a game mixed with two halves, but bringing Wong Wai and Ngan Cheuk Pan certainly turned the game around in the second half.

I'm still not entirely convinced that Losada is the right man for the job, and the match against India away will be his final opportunity to prove his case otherwise.

 

Looks like Eastern Sports Club may have found Roberto Losada's replacement with Spaniard coach Manu Torres. Not much is known about him although he had formerly coached the El Salvador Under 20 national team and hasn't had a mangerial role since he departed from Portuguese League 2 club Vizela two years ago.

In other transfer news, Anson Wong Ho Chun has departed from CSL club Qiandao Hainiu and is speculated to join current HKPL leaders Kitchee according to Joga Bonito's reel posts. It is also rumoured that Lee Man's Barak Braunshtain could be a potential transfer target for Shenzhen Peng City (the club where Matt Orr was recently released.)

 

Well, looks like Matt Orr wearing a Shanghai Port jacket certainly strengthens the speculation that he could be joining the club. Should Orr join the club, I wonder where will this leave Alex Jojo?

 

Report out of Taiwan suggests that only the 16 member associations that qualified for the 2026 U23 Asian Cup will be allowed to send a men's team for the Asian Games. Similarly, only the 12 associations who qualified for the Women's Asian Cup can send teams to the Asian Games Women's tournament.

This means Hong Kong won't be sending a team for either gender.