Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Macau have been handed a second chance to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 and striker Leong Ka-hang is confident he and his teammates can build on their good fortune when they take on India under new coach Chan Hiu-ming.
Macau were invited to take part in the qualifying rounds of the championship after the withdrawal of Guam and Kuwait freed up spots in the draw for the top two finishers from last year’s AFC Solidarity Cup.
That was a tournament in which Macau excelled, finishing as runners-up behind Nepal with Leong named MVP after a series of impressive performances in the Kuching-based competition.
And while Macau kicked off their campaign with back-to-back defeats - a 1-0 away loss against the Kyrgyz Republic was followed by 4-0 reversal at home against Myanmar – Leong believes he and his compatriots can benefit from their participation in the competition.
“We expect to get more experience because we were not supposed to play in this round of the Asian Cup qualifiers until the AFC Solidarity Cup and I think we have a good opportunity to play in this game,” the 24-year-old striker said.
“We will play more defensively because Macau are not a very strong team and I hope we can get more experience.
“The new coach brings more ideas and a new formation compared to the past, and now we are going to try a new formation and new players in the games.”
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