Cambodian coach determined to create surprise at Hang Day despite not coming to Vietnam

Cambodia had their first win at the AFF Cup 2018 against Laos, but that was not enough for Keisuke Honda's team to qualify for the semi-finals. They were officially eliminated when Vietnam and Myanmar drew goalless. Therefore, the final match at Hang Day (Hanoi) with Cambodia was just a formality.

However, coach Keisuke Honda of the Cambodian national team affirmed that his team will not easily surrender to the Vietnamese national team.

“The AFF Cup is a new experience for me, I am very happy to lead a team to play a match every 3 days. There is a lot of pressure but I like pressure,” Honda said on the AFF Cup homepage.

Famous player and coach Keisuke Honda. Photo: Internet

Regarding the match against Vietnam, the Japanese coach said: "It will be very difficult for us, especially in this period. I have spent a lot of time building the team, so let's wait and see if we play well or not this weekend.

I told the players after the match with Laos that everything is a process, so let's try to move forward. The next important match will be with Vietnam. This is a strong opponent, so we need to prepare well."

Returning to Cambodia's 3-1 victory over Laos, this was the Angkor Warriors' first victory in 16 years at the AFF Cup. The last time this team won was a 1-0 victory over the Philippines in the group stage of the 2002 Tiger Cup.

“I am proud of the players but I don’t want our joy or sadness to come from the result of this match. I want it to come from the team’s progress, because I think we have played well in recent matches but we didn’t win,” Honda said.

However, player Keisuke Honda, who is also the head coach of the Cambodian national team, after leading his team to two matches in the group stage of the recent AFF Cup, had to return to Australia to play for Melbourne Victory Club in the A-League this weekend.

Also because of his dual duties of playing for Melbourne Victory and coaching the Cambodian national team, Keisuke Honda often directs remotely using the “Video call” service and with the support of his Argentine assistant, Felix Dalmas. In the second match against Myanmar, despite Honda’s guidance, Cambodia still could not avoid a heavy 1-4 defeat./.

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