The Football Association of Hong Kong, China

Fifa World Cup 2026 qualifiers: blow for Hong Kong as trio miss trip to Iran – including star man Everton Camargo

Camargo among late withdrawals as he is ruled out of the trip to Tehran with a knee injury, while Helio Goncalves pulls out after squad is released

Brazil-born forward Camargo has made a major impact since his debut in September, adding potency to a goal-shy team then being sorely missed away to Bhutan

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Everton Camargo (left) has added significantly to Hong Kong’s attacking threat since his debut in September. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 1:03pm, 13 Nov 2023Updated: 1:07pm, 13 Nov 2023

Hong Kong’s men’s football national team have been hit by a trio of key withdrawals before they travel to face Iran in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Star player Everton Camargo has been ruled out of the trip to Tehran with a knee injury, while centre-back Helio Goncalves has made himself unavailable because of “a family reason”. Fernando, a Kitchee teammate of Goncalves, is staying at home, with his wife set to give birth.

In addition to the trio, Sun Ming-him, who came off the bench in both World Cup play-off matches against Bhutan last month, has not recovered from the injury that has sidelined him for the past three weeks.

A Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) spokesperson said changes to the squad for next Tuesday’s home match with Turkmenistan were “possible”.

Camargo lines up the free kick that broke Hong Kong’s goal drought away to Cambodia in September. Photo: HKFA

The absence of Camargo is a hammer blow for head coach Jorn Andersen, after the Lee Man forward made a dazzling start to his international career.

The Brazil-born player made his debut in September, soon after obtaining a passport, and has scored three goals in as many Hong Kong appearances. He was sorely missed when Andersen’s team suffered a humbling 2-0 defeat in Bhutan, after hurting his hamstring in the 4-0 first-leg win.