Head Coach Mixu Paatelainen says Hong Kong are heading for Bahrain with a team of “fighters” on Saturday as they get ready for a seemingly impossible task in the Middle East for the remaining 2022 Fifa World Cup Asian zone qualifiers.
Despite missing several key players who play in China as their clubs have refused to release them due to quarantine requirements, the Finn was still happy with his squad before they face regional heavyweights Iraq, Iran and hosts Bahrain in the next two weeks.
“I am very happy with the squad, a squad of players who are fighters, a squad of players who have a fantastic attitude and they are the players I want,” said Paatelainen, whose contract with the Hong Kong Football Association is due to expire next month and will leave Hong Kong for Bahrain on Saturday night.
“We will face three high level opponents in the event, but I am delighted with the players’ attitude. Every one is fully committed. In fact, it has been a long time since we last got together and therefore it’s great to see the boys again, talk to them and prepare them for the event.”
One of the “fighters”, midfielder Ngan Lok-fung whose impressive performance with Lee Man this season has earned him a call-up to the Hong Kong team after an eight-year absence.
“I like him [Ngan] as a player, as a character because he is a fighter, he is a ball winner with a never give up attitude. He is exactly the character that we need for these matches,” said the manager.
“I am not a gifted player but I just want to prove that if I keep working hard, the chance will come one day,” said the midfielder, whose work rate and ball control skills steered his club to third place in the Premier League with three wins in the play-off stage against Eastern, Pegasus and champions Kitchee.
Hong Kong are in fourth place in group C after a 2-0 win against visitors Cambodia 18 months ago. The team had been scheduled to meet Iran in Tehran in March 2020 but the pandemic threw the world sporting calendar upside down until the Asian Football Confederation rearranged the schedule by calling off the home-and-away format and replacing it with a zonal competition in Bahrain.
Iraq and Bahrain are the two unbeaten teams in the group, with Iraq leading the standings on 11 points from five games, followed by Bahrain who are two points behind. Iran are third on six points but have a game in hand. Hong Kong have five points, while Cambodia sit firmly at the bottom with one point.
Hong Kong will be massive underdogs against the three Middle East powers in Bahrain, but Paatelainen is not about to concede without a fight.
“I never go to a football match to lose, never,” said the manager. “I want to see a fighting team, I want to see the players out there who will do everything for the team. They are not just running around like headless chickens, I want them to know tactically their positions, how to move and how to make it difficult for our opponents.”
Paatelainen has selected a squad of 25 players, including defensive midfielder Diego Moreira of Eastern, the latest naturalised player, but two of them, Sandro and Fernando, another newly naturalised player, withdrew before the first training session.
Hong Kong will meet Iran on June 3 before getting a one-week break ahead of their second match against Iraq on June 11. Hong Kong will play the hosts in their last match on June 15.