Mixu Paatelainen sticks with experience as he names 23-strong Hong Kong World Cup squad
- The Finn has no room for a batch of youngsters as he puts his faith in experience against Cambodia and Iran
- Hong Kong will face an acid test against the Iranians at home on September 15, the highest Fifa ranked team in Asia at 23
Mixu Paatelainen has named his 23-strong 2022 World Cup qualifying squad that will do battle against Cambodia and Iran next month, putting his faith on his tried and tested veterans while leaving out a batch of youngsters waiting in the wings.
The Hong Kong coach didn’t surprise with his selections, adding Sandro, of Premier League champions Wofoo Tai Po, to the squad after the Brazilian forward missed Hong Kong’s warm-up game against Taiwan, which saw his charges beaten 2-0 at Mong Kok Stadium in June.
Kwoon Chung Southern’s James Ha has also been added to the squad after skipping the Taiwan game as he was away on holiday, while former Tai Po midfielder Wong Wai, who is currently a free agent, is the only surprise call-up to the squad.
Hong Kong will take on Cambodia in Phnom Penh on September 5 before the team have the Herculean task of playing Asian giants Iran at home five days later on September 10.
Cambodia will provide an interesting challenge at the National Olympic Stadium in Cambodia’s capital, and Paatelainen was looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m quite delighted to name my squad for the World Cup qualifiers but it has been difficult to chose the players because we have quite a few players who can play [eligible] for Hong Kong,” said the 52-year-old Finnish coach.
“Also, we don’t have any competitive fixtures and matches going on and I have to base my judgment on the players’ previous season form and how they performed in practice matches as well.
“It’s not an ideal situation but because we don’t have any competitive fixtures, that’s how we go about it. I feel we have a strong squad, certainly a more experienced squad than in June against [Taiwan].
“In that game, we wanted to see as many players as possible in our training sessions and give the youth players a possibility to show their talent and see whether they are ready to break into the squad. Some are in my opinion and some aren’t. This squad has experience and has cover for every position.”
Asked how Hong Kong would fare against Cambodia and especially Iran, who have reached the World Cup finals before, the Finn said: “Obviously, we want to do as well as we can and get positive results from there. We know it’s not going to be easy. The Cambodians play good football. They pass the ball well and they have able players. Their [playing] surface obviously plays a role over there. It’s not what our players are used to. Our players are used to playing on more or less on grass. It is an artificial surface [in Cambodia] and from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty hard. We will take that into our minds and will make our preparations to make sure that every player is as comfortable as possible for that. The bottom line is that we want to take a positive result from there,” he said.
Paatelainen and his charges will be provided with an acid test when they take on Iran, the highest Fifa ranked Asian team at the moment (Fifa world ranking 23) and the Finn is under no illusions of the task at hand.
“It’s going to be a big test for us. But you know, we have a plan on how we going to play and how we want to make life very difficult for Iran and cause them problems as well. I’m very looking forward to that test.”
Of the youngsters, the Hong Kong coach has dropped most of the youngsters who disappointed against Taiwan, leaving out Eastern’s Yue Tze-nam and Shinichi Chan of Kitchee and only retaining Tai Po’s Sun Ming-him.
HONG KONG WORLD CUP SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Yapp Hung-fai (Eastern), Wang Zhenpeng (Kitchee), Yuen Ho-chun (Lee Man)
Defenders: Chak Ting-fung, Fung Hing-wa (Eastern), Festus Baise (Guizhou Hengfeng), Andrew James Russell (Hebei China Fortune), Daniel Cancela Rodriguez, Helio Jose De Souza Gonclaves, Tong Kin-man (Kitchee), Tsui Wang-kit (Meizhou Hakka), Leung Nok-hang (R&F).
Midfielders: Lee Ka-yiu, Xu Deshuai (Eastern), Tan Chun-lok (Guangzhou R&F), Huang Yang, Ju Yingzhi (Kitchee), Philip Chan Siu-kwan (Kwoon Chung Southern), Wong Wai.
Forwards: Alexander Oluwatayo Akande (Dalian Yifang), Alessandro Ferreira Leonardo (Sandro), Sun Ming-him (Wofoo Tai Po), James Stephen Gee Ha, (Kwoon Chung Southern)
