AFC Asian Cup: Hong Kong boss Andersen playing waiting game over final squad, explains why pair axed
- Jorn Andersen is compiling a shortlist of players who could fill the one space remaining in his Asian Cup squad
- Head coach says Mahama Awal and Leung Kwun-chung did not do enough to impress him
Hong Kong head coach Jorn Andersen said “three or four players” were in contention for the final place in his AFC Asian Cup finals squad, after announcing an initial 25-man party for the tournament next month.
The Norwegian said Dudu, the Brazil-born centre-half who is trying to obtain a passport, remained on his wish list, and he was prepared to wait until just six hours before his side’s opening game of the tournament against United Arab Emirates on January 14 to finalise his 26-strong squad.
In cutting down the 30 players who attended training camp, Andersen axed Mahama Awal and Leung Kwun-chung because of a mix of form and attitude issues. Paulo Cesar and Tsui Wang-kit lost injury battles. Likewise, centre-back Jacky Leung Nok-hang’s failure to recover from a persistent knee problem was a hammer blow for Andersen.
“We are waiting to choose one player, there are three or four on the list,” Andersen said. “Dudu is one of them, but he still has no passport. We are looking for players in a specific position [defence], because we are thin there.”
Leung Kwun-chung had been expected to fortify the defensive ranks after being summoned for the pre-tournament camp, but the 31-year-old cut a distant figure in training and was notably reluctant to exert himself in running exercises.
