Kwok has sympathy for HK loss

HONG KONG national coach Kwok Ka-ming feels the territory's World Cup squad would not have fared any better or worse than the Hong Kong League XI, who suffered a 4-1 thrashing by Switzerland in the Carlsberg Cup in their opening match on Friday.

Kwok, who wanted the Hong Kong FA to field the territory's national side in the tournament as part of their build-up towards this month's World Cup qualifiers, said it would have been a 'great opportunity' had the local side played.

'The Hong Kong World Cup team would have more or less played to the same level as the Hong Kong League XI. To prepare for tournaments like these, you need to go overseas. The Hong Kong League XI players haven't been together for very long.

'In recent years, there hasn't been any class foreign players, especially attackers.

'The bottom line is that there really isn't much difference between the Hong Kong World Cup team and the Hong Kong League XI,' he said.

Two goals from midfielder Adrian Kunz, one from midfielder Rene Weiler and one from skipper Murat Yakin, who scored from the penalty spot, sealed the issue for Switzerland. Hong Kong scored through Sing Tao striker Ian Muir.