Fifa World Cup 2026: Hong Kong hit for four in Iran, late goals hurt depleted visitors
- Hong Kong concede four goals to lose in Iran, after quickfire early double raised rout fears
- Head coach Andersen makes host of changes following multiple drop outs
Hong Kong were beaten 4-0 by Iran in their opening World Cup qualifier, although two late goals flattered a home team that was frustrated for long periods by Jorn Andersen’s cussed side.
Hongkongers of a pessimistic disposition would have feared the worst when Sardar Azmoun struck a quickfire double to leave their national team staring at a two-goal deficit after only 15 minutes.
But Andersen’s disciplined side, missing a host of key figures, stemmed the bleeding, albeit the hosts’ backline was able to operate in second gear, ahead of a difficult assignment in Uzbekistan next week.
Iran passed up a handful of second-half chances, but Mehdi Taremi scored with three minutes remaining, and, somewhat cruelly, Ramin Rezaeian added a fourth two minutes into stoppage time.
Andersen arrived in Tehran without gun forward Everton Camargo, and fellow Brazil-born players Helio Goncalves and Fernando. He threw Iran a dummy, sending out Shinichi Chan for pre-match press conference duties, before leaving the versatile Kitchee left-footer on the bench. There was a substitute’s brief for Michael Udebuluzor, too. The teenage striker has been plagued by hamstring issues, and there was a case for reserving him for next week’s winnable home fixture with Turkmenistan.
Andersen was not finished there with his selection surprises. Li Ngai-hoi, typically a centre-half, began the game at left-back, and we potentially saw the first sign of a changing of the guard in goal, with 24-year-old Tse Ka-wing preferred to 87-cap veteran Yapp Hung-fai.
