HK will settle for third

Outclassed by Denmark on Sunday, Hong Kong coach Kenny Lai Sun-cheung will be looking to avoid the wooden spoon when his charges take on Croatia for third place tomorrow night.

Hong Kong will have to lift their game, even though Croatia looked listless in their 2-0 defeat by South Korea.

'Croatia are not playing very well at the moment and we hope we can use this to our advantage. They are not as fit as they can be,' said Lai after Hong Kong were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Denmark. 'We have a lot to play for because we really do have a chance against them and we are hoping to finish third in the tournament. Hopefully, the crowd will get behind us again.'

Despite failing to rattle the Danish defence with only half-chances on goal, Hong Kong earned special praise from Danish coach Morten Olsen, who believes the local side were 'better than the team we played three years ago'. Denmark defeated a Hong Kong League XI 2-1 to finish third in the 2003 tournament.

Lai agreed with Olsden. 'I think Olsen is right in thinking we have improved from three years ago. Even though our league is not very strong, the Hong Kong team have made improvements. We are lacking a bit of confidence and our defence didn't stand firm against Denmark.

'However, in recent years, we have showed improvement in defensive skills and organisation. Still, we can improve our on-field communication. We need to focus on the match the whole time,' he said.

Even though Denmark failed to qualify for this year's World Cup finals, they were still a class above Hong Kong.