A total of 40 teams will be divided into eight groups of five teams to play home and away round-robin matches for the 2018 World Cup Asian qualifying campaign. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up will advance to the third round of qualification. Hong Kong have been drawn in group C with China, Qatar, Maldives and Bhutan. Hong Kong's campaign begins at home to Bhutan on June 11 2015, and finishes on March 24 2016 away to Qatar.
The tenuous rapprochement between the two Koreas may see North and South Korea competing in a friendly for the first time in 10 years, according to an article in the English language Korea Joongang Daily, part of one of South Korea's biggest newspaper groups.
Harking back to the last "unification football match" held in Seoul in 1990, the newspaper reports that: "Hopes are rising that South and North Korea may play a friendly football match for the first time in a decade, after the two countries reached an agreement last Tuesday to ease rising tensions on the peninsula."
Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu will be visiting North Korea next month for the September 19 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) executive meeting and last Tuesday's agreements, which ended the recent stand-off over the alleged use of land-mines in the DMZ by the North Koreans and the use of loudspeakers on the border by the South Koreans, included calls for renewed civilian exchanges.
According to the South Korean report, Chung is expected to have a conversation with his North Korean counterpart, Han Un-gyong, who is also an executive member of the Asian Football Confederation, about re-opening friendly football games between the South and North.
Whilst the two sides have not played a friendly for 10 years, they do regularly compete against one another in the East Asian Cup - with the men's event having been recently been won by South Korea and the women's by North Korea.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jung-Un, a keen football fan and long-time supporter of Manchester United has praised the North Korean national teams for adopting the "guerrilla tactics". first developed by the North Korean Communist Party in their fight against the Japanese, and may be keen to see resurrection of the unification game - particularly if it can be held in Pyongyang where it was won 2-1 by the North Koreans when it was last held in the North Korean capital.
Harking back to the last "unification football match" held in Seoul in 1990, the newspaper reports that: "Hopes are rising that South and North Korea may play a friendly football match for the first time in a decade, after the two countries reached an agreement last Tuesday to ease rising tensions on the peninsula."
Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu will be visiting North Korea next month for the September 19 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) executive meeting and last Tuesday's agreements, which ended the recent stand-off over the alleged use of land-mines in the DMZ by the North Koreans and the use of loudspeakers on the border by the South Koreans, included calls for renewed civilian exchanges.
According to the South Korean report, Chung is expected to have a conversation with his North Korean counterpart, Han Un-gyong, who is also an executive member of the Asian Football Confederation, about re-opening friendly football games between the South and North.
Whilst the two sides have not played a friendly for 10 years, they do regularly compete against one another in the East Asian Cup - with the men's event having been recently been won by South Korea and the women's by North Korea.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jung-Un, a keen football fan and long-time supporter of Manchester United has praised the North Korean national teams for adopting the "guerrilla tactics". first developed by the North Korean Communist Party in their fight against the Japanese, and may be keen to see resurrection of the unification game - particularly if it can be held in Pyongyang where it was won 2-1 by the North Koreans when it was last held in the North Korean capital.
China coach demands team beat Hong Kong by at least three goals in World Cup qualifier
Alain Perrin's comments sure to fire up fans still more for much-anticipated clash
China’s head coach Alain Perrin has scoffed at Hong Kong’s chances of upsetting his side in this week’s highly anticipated World Cup qualifier in Shenzhen and says he wants to win by at least 3-0.
The Frenchman’s comments, reported by mainland media, are sure to further heat up what already seems guaranteed to be a tense atmosphere.
The match will be held at the 40,000 seat Baoan Stadium in the western part of the city on Thursday, but only 27,400 tickets will be sold due to security reasons, of which 2,200 were allocated to visiting fans from across the border.
Team China are in Shenzhen to prepare while Hong Kong are currently in a training camp north of Guangzhou before leaving for Shenzhen ion Tuesday.
Perrin said they were targeting wins in both their World Cup qualifying matches in September. China’s next game is an ‘away’ game against the Maldives which has bizarrely been relocated to Shenyang in Northern China– rather than a neutral venue – after the Maldives said their home ground’s pitch wasn’t good enough to play on.
“Our target is to collect six points in the two matches and to score as many goals as possible against the weaker teams,” said the Frenchman. “Our biggest threat of the group definitely comes from Qatar.
Our target is to collect six points in the two matches and to score as many goals as possible against the weaker teams
“But we never underestimate any of our opponents. Hong Kong have naturalised players who are very powerful with a strong desire to win.
“They have also got some players who are playing in the Chinese leagues. We need to cope with them by adopting specific tactics.”
Hong Kong currently lead the group with six points from their first two games against minnows Bhutan and Maldives, in which they scored nine goals and conceded one.
Head coach Kim Pan-gon will be happy with a draw against the giant neighbours, 72 places above Hong Kong in the Fifa rankings.
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