AFC Asian Cup: Hong Kong ‘closing gap’ on big guns, Andersen says, after Saudi Arabia defeat
- Head coach Jorn Andersen says Hong Kong a vastly improved team after a prolonged training camp
- Despite loss in final warm-up game, Andersen believes he sees a change in players’ belief and approach
Jorn Andersen said Hong Kong have “closed the gap” on Asia’s big guns, despite his team losing 2-0 to Saudi Arabia in their final AFC Asian Cup warm-up match in Doha on Wednesday.
The Norwegian’s side begin their tournament against United Arab Emirates on Sunday, and the head coach said his players “feel like they can compete with anyone”.
Andersen made five changes from last week’s defeat by Tajikistan, but opted against risking those carrying knocks. There was, however, a return for dashing full-back Yue Tze-nam, who was kicked out of the New Year’s Day victory over China.
One of the Saudis’ goals at Al Janoub Stadium came from what Andersen felt was a soft penalty. But he looked past the scoreline to reflect on a transformational body of work over a month-long training camp.
“We have taken a big step, the players’ condition is much better, we can go long distances at a high tempo, push more, and get closer to the opponent,” Andersen said.
“The organisation in the team is much better, when pressing, and against pressing. We are not seeing it in results right now, but we have played teams that on paper are much better, and higher ranked, than us.
“The gap is much closer, the players feel we can compete against anyone, and that is a good feeling.”
A planned training session on Thursday has been cancelled in favour of recovery work, with preparation for UAE beginning in earnest on Friday.
