New Coach Ohara Gets Cracking

PHNOM PENH – Newly-appointed national head coach Kazunori Ohara has wasted no time in getting started on his new job, selecting a 40-man squad in preparation for the second qualifying round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The 42-year-old Japanese will trim his squad over the coming months to 22 squad members. The team will host Singapore in their first World Cup qualification game on June 11 at Phnom Penh’s newly-renovated Olympic Stadium.

Mr. Ohara, who previously served as Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) technical director, took over the reins last week from South Korean Lee Tae Hoon, who has since moved on to coach the Cambodian U-23 side.

His preparations for the 2018 World Cup, however, may run into trouble as the U-23 side will be participating in the 28th SEA Games from May 29 – June 13, which clashes with the national team’s match on June 11.

At the moment, it is unclear whether Mr. Ohara will select the youngsters from the U-23 side to contest the World Cup match against Singapore. Some of the star players from the U-23 side include Prak Mony Udom, Chan Vathanaka, Sok Chanrasmey, Um Sereyroth and Sary Matnorotin.

The U-23’s SEA Games schedule sees them start their campaign against the Philippines at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on June 3. The team can expect a positive outcome from their meeting, having defeated their opponents 3-1 at the recent AFC U-23 Championship qualification match in Bangkok.

The young Angkor Warriors will then play Indonesia, Singapore and finally Myanmar in their bid to secure a semi-final berth.

The FFC has announced a series of friendlies to prepare the team for the SEA Games. The youngsters play Malaysia on Wednesday and Friday and face South Korea’s U-23 side on May 11. They are also likely to face a final friendly against a team from Vietnam.