‘Stupid’ own goal costs Hong Kong against ‘lucky’ Iraq in Fifa World Cup qualifier
- Head coach Mixu Paatelainen rues ‘very cheap own goal’ and side’s attacking play in a game the Finn ‘never anticipated we would lose’
- AFC Asian Cup China 2023 fourth-placed qualifying boost hinges on game against Bahrain and results for Afghanistan and Maldives
The win helped the Lions of Mesopotamia to top spot in the group C table and put a dent in Hong Kong’s own AFC Asian Cup 2023 hopes, as the games acted as joint qualifiers. Hong Kong needed the points in their quest to finish
It was a resolute performance from Hong Kong against a team ranked 76 places above them in the Fifa world rankings but they paid the price for Fung’s misjudged 11th minute header, which left goalkeeper and Eastern teammate Yapp Hung-fai with no chance.
The Finnish head coach called the own goal “stupid” in his comments after the match, though he did also see positives from his side’s performance against the team currently atop the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying group standings.
“Above all I am very pleased with our players effort, organisation, determination not to concede a goal. I thought Iraq never opened us up and created goal scoring opportunities. I thought Iraq was very lucky to win this match. We scored an own goal – a stupid, very cheap own goal.
