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East Asian Football Championship
SportFootball

World Cup 2022: Hong Kong coach Mixu Paatelainen pleased with first three points

  • Former Finland striker also sees his home nation qualify for first major tournament in Euro 2020
  • Head coach delighted with players in beating Cambodia 2-0 as they look forward to EAFF Championships next month

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Hong Kong coach Mixu Paatelainen (centre) gives instructions to Alex Akande (second from left) and James Ha (left) in their World Cup qualifier against Cambodia. Photos: May Tse
Jonathan White
Hong Kong head coach Mixu Paatelainen was happy with his players in picking up his first win in the job he took over in April.

“I was a little bit worried because this was a different kind of match to the last two, but the way the players changed the tactics we asked them to do was good,” he said. “Of course you can improve, there’s always room for improvement, but really happy with everyone’s commitment.”

Paatelainen was also pleased for the fans after a 2-0 win over Cambodia brought a first three points in this Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifying campaign.

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“We want to give our supporters happy moments. We want to give Hong Kong people happy moments and reason to celebrate, because we’re the same. We represent Hong Kong and we do our everything to give them enjoyable moments, absolutely.

Hong Kong’s Giovane Alves is brought down in a tackle at Hong Kong Stadium.
Hong Kong’s Giovane Alves is brought down in a tackle at Hong Kong Stadium.
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“Obviously, it’s not the best of times for Hong Kong, but one thing for sure is that we try our best to hopefully give a little bit of joy for the supporters and the Hong Kong people as well.”

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