I'll give my thoughts: Overall, this is a much better performance than last week against Malaysia in which they were creating more opportunities especially within the first half and not concede many unecessary fouls. Wang Zhenpeng who was the surprise inclusion actually did quite well despite lacking first team opportunities at Kitchee. Law Tsz Chun had proven to be quite a threat as a winger just like he was during the ACL Champions League with Kitchee. Nice to see Wong Wai and Matthew Orr getting their goals which were all scored outside of the box. Yue Tsz Nam was the other player that stood out throughout the match as does Chan Siu Kwan and Sean Tse on his first international debut. Its unfortunate that both Tsui Wang Kit and Fernando miss out, but will they be back for Hong Kong's two remaining ties. At least this ended the Hong Kong national team's 10 winless streak. Lastly, whilst there are some areas that still need a bit more work (especially from their second half display where they could had scored more), I just hope they can keep the momentum going forwards.
No idea what Andersen did but what a surprise at how vast the improvement has been in 1 week, from the Malaysia friendly to this match. I wonder if it was just rust that needed to be shook off against Malaysia to get everyone moving again. Also not to be a debbie downer, but while Matt Orr had that one great goal, his final touch needs a bit more work. He is still lacking that killer instinct to finish off these great chances, and he will need to develop it if he wants to be HK's main striker going forward (unlike for Kitchee where he plays to the left and can feed the great Dejan). And one more thing, disappointed that Ngan Lok Fung has performed quite poorly in the past 2 matches and gave away a clumsy free kick. With Eli seemingly out of favor, it is worrying that there is no replacement for Huang Yang.
India 2:0 Cambodia India are now top of the group. Cambodia don't look too strong so hopefully Hong Kong not only gets a win but a few more goals against them on Saturday. I really don't want us to lose out due to goal difference AGAIN.
We have to acknowledge that Afghanistan were very, very poor. That said, we were the better team and the win was fully deserved. I think Ngan and Diego are two players who need to be paired together in a double pivot in order to succeed. Another thing to remember is that the two of them have only played one match at club level in the past five months. If DM is a concern, then Andersen can repeat what he did in the late stages of the match last night and push Tse up into midfield. I watched this match and I was a bit surprised to see Cambodia play so defensively. What was interesting to me was that Honda set them up in a 5-3-2 and later in the match, he used all five of his substitutions to replace his front five players. It looks as if they've targeted their match against us as the one that was most winnable to them, so they decided not to exert themselves against India. We can beat them if we press them and move the ball quickly. The problem is that we can only do one or the other at the moment.
The fear of losing on goal difference is why I was so annoyed at Orr's poor final touch... and also a bit against Sun Ming Him for missing a great chance from the 12 yard spot when he shot it directly at goal. Definitely a match where we could have run up a +3 or +4 GD, but ended up with +1. Regardless, a win and a draw in the next 2 matches should hopefully see us advance either in 1st place or as best runner up.
Considering that the cancellation of the 2021/22 season of the Hong Kong Premier League had affected a lot of the HK national team's plans, it was always going to be a challenge for the players to regain their form. I know things are quite hectic, but at least the win against Afghanistan should hopefully boost their confidence going in against Cambodia in a few days time. I know that Matt Orr still has plenty of potential and further room to develop ahead of him. Seeing that Dejan still occupies the main striker position, he should continue to take the opportunity to learn from him since he (Dejan) is currently one of the best foreign strikers in Asia. Anyways, I'd highly expect Hong Kong to get a result against Cambodia, although hopefully they can maintain their form that they had against Afghanistan and work a bit more on the pressing as well as to build and create more opportunities.
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football...n-andersen-very-proud-winning-start-asian-cup Yapp Hung-fai and Paulo Argolo, both believed to have fallen ill. While the Hong Kong Football Association have yet to name the two players or three officials who tested positive for Covid-19 soon after arriving in India, neither left-back Tsui Wang-kit nor forward Fernando Pedreira were among the substitutes. =================================================================== SCMP confirmed (well, guessed) Fernando and Tsui are the players struck down by COVID-19, as they were not on the subs list. Hopefully both will recover in time for the India game. We don't just need them for their abilities, we need them to take over some tired legs as well.
Wang Zhenpang is also suffering from some sort of injury/ illness. As a result, the HKFA has urgently called up Ng Wai Him to join the squad. He will depart for India tonight. Interesting that Ng was called up over other youngsters like Choy Tsz To, Yuen Ho Chun or Pong Cheuk Hei. Though I agree with Andersen, Ng would be my first choice. https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/sport/20220610/bkn-20220610170359640-0610_00882_001.html
To be fair, Ng Wai Him was one of the breakthrough players of the 2021/22 season of the Hong Kong Premier League in which he had a tremendous campaign where he kept a number of clean sheets and I felt he is going to be one to watch for the future. Even though his compatriot Choy Tsz To who also plays in the same club as Ng, I don't feel he will be able to compete with him for the number one spot at Southern in which I feel that he might have to find another club so that he can find first team opportunities elsewhere.
All three keepers were dealing with fever on Wednesday. It's just that Wang was the least sick/most fit depending on how you look at it. Ng getting an emergency call up reminds me of when the squad was announced and some people were shocked that Wang, who is a backup, was selected ahead of him. If Ng had been called up, it might have been him who would've had to play against Afghanistan. Can you imagine the pressure that a 19 year old making his debut for Hong Kong in an ACQ match would've had to deal with? Maybe he would've been fine but I feel much more secure with Wang in goal in that situation than Mg.
I agree, Ng was so composed and assured for Southern, a shame the season was cut. Also, I've seen Choy in person and I think he is 5'9 tops. He might even be in the 5'8 range. Ng I think is 6'0 to 6'1. True, Wang performed much better than we expected. All that experience paid off... he barely had any playing time this year due to injuries and being behind Paulo, so it was really a tremendous performance from Wang. I was one of those who were shocked that he and Paulo were included in the squad, so I need to apologize to Wang for doubting him! (My doubts against Paulo still remain).
The Hong Kong line-up is out: Yapp Hung Fai makes a return to the starting eleven in place of Wang Zhenpeng as does Yu Wai Lim who is in place of Fung Hing Wa who is not in the squad. Fernando and Tsui Wang Kit still remain absentees. Anyways, I hope the team and Andersen can get a result against Cambodia today.
Full-Time: Cambodia Vs Hong Kong - 0:3 Hong Kong's chances of qualifying for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup took a massive boost as goals from Matt Orr, Sun Ming Him and Chan Siu Kwan were enough to give the team the all important three points as they go in to their final fixture against the hosts India which will be quite the challenge.
Quick thoughts right after watching this wonderful match: Love the pressing style! I'm glad HK isn't using the defend and counter strategy, especially if we are playing teams that we know we can compete with or beat. Defend and counter should only be for strong teams. We start quick now. We press right from minute 1, especially with MH Sun. The problem is we get very tired by the end, but we come out of the gates strong. Huang Yang still does so many important things. He knows when to help the offense, when to help out on defense, and he controls the tempo so well. At 38 he is still so important. Same can be said of Ju Yingzhi, really appreciate his experience. Philip Chan has looked great in the past 2 matches. Great effort, and showed some unbelievable offense today. Didn't know he had it in him. While I'm happy Yapp is back - he is much more steady than Paulo - his rust is showing. First attempt (nearly on goal) was missed by him, and the next 2 he punched away weakly. He needs to either catch some of these or punch it clear. But he is vocal, reliable with his feet, and has 150% concentration. Knowing to rush out and clear the ball with a header was key. LF Ngan still looking rusty. He is not playing the CDM role well like Huang Yang, and he almost cost us a goal. Matt Orr needs to work on receiving the ball a bit better and not just trying to chase down overhead passes. I hope WK Tsui recovers soon enough to replace Wong Tsz!
Unfortunately India just beat Afghanistan 2-1, with all goals coming after the 86th minute. This means HK will need to win or draw on Tuesday to secure their spot.
My thoughts on the match: Once again, the team are certainly building up their confidence and motivation from their previous win against Afghanistan to Cambodia, Nice to see Yapp Hung Fai make his return to win his 80th cap for the national team. Sun Ming Him was brilliant as he does show that he can be quite the threat. Matt Orr finding himself on the scoresheet by scoring his second goal of the qualifiers plus provided an assist to Chan Siu Kwan's goal. Jahangir Khan also showed some potential. Their second win will certainly boost their morale and confidence even further going in to their final fixture against India. Overall and so far, it has been quite a turnaround for the Hong Kong national football team from losing against Malaysia to now a step closer to securing a place in next year's Asian Cup finals.
This is what the current standings for the best second place teams look like so far: Basically, Hong Kong just need a win or a draw to achieve the automatic qualification spot for the 2023 Asian Cup finals. But if they lose, they will still qualify if either the Philippines, Malaysia or Indonesia fail to get a result in their final fixture. In addition, it is highly important that Hong Kong do not concede too many goals as they face against India in which they will have to be very cautious and watch out for Sunil Chhetri who is India's in-form striker that could pose as a threat to Hong Kong.
As @Radu Razvan said above, I think the Philippines match will be key to us. Of course, given our form and momentum, I strongly think we can hold India to at least a draw, but you never know given we are playing on their home turf with their fans packing the stadium. But the Philippines will be going up against a very strong Palestine team also looking for a result. Palestine scored 6 and conceded 0, so I think there is a great chance of HK making it through save for a catastrophic situation.
I am rather confident we will make it, India don't look too strong even at home. Even if we lose I still think we should qualify as one of the second placed teams. I am just sorry that a good number of players in this squad will not make the final 2023 Asian Cup finals squad, because the China based players will surely return. The China based players have openly rejected to be on the squad for these qualifiers, yet when the sweet fruits of the finals come they all return...
Indeed, India are not that great but they have a fantastic support from the stands, who pushed them to the victory against Afghanistan. Not an easy game at all.
Of course line ups are fluid due to injury and illness, but I expect a back 4 of Yue - Tse - Fung - Wong. Fung will likely be asked to step in as India plays a lot of high balls, and having the tall and commanding Fung partnering with Tse will provide a twin tower defense. In the middle, I expect Wong Wai to be pulled in favor of a more defensive minded CM like Ngan or Philip. Rest of the line up should be unchanged.
Actually, I don't think Andersen will move away from the 4-3-3 with two #8's which has brought success in the first two matches. If Wong doesn't start, it will be because of fitness and not because of tactics. It's true that India haven't been blowing teams away in the first two matches but it's more to do with their longstanding problem of not being to finish, apart from Chhetri. They will play the ball faster than any opponent that Hong Kong has faced thus far. Lastly, let's not discount the advantage of playing at home. 44,216 fans turned up on Saturday for the game against Afghanistan. For the most important game of the group, we could see even more fans and it will certainly be the most hostile crowd that we've come up against since the Iraq game in 2019.