Multiple foreign players in squad for Hong Kong’s Lionel Messi date, Guangdong games to clash with AFC Asian Cup finals

Jorn Andersen has named a 40-man preliminary squad, featuring a host of foreign players from the city’s Premier League, for Hong Kong’s exhibition match against Inter Miami on February 4.

The Norwegian has also named 29 players in a preliminary squad for two games against Guangdong. The timing of those matches, in the two-legged Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, on January 31 and February 7, raises questions given they fall during the knockout stages of the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup finals.

Planning a high-profile Inter Miami clash while the tournament is still being played was not necessarily a good idea, but very few administrators would turn up their noses at the chance of hosting Lionel Messi, and fellow Uefa Champions League winners Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Hong Kong head coach Andersen has chosen a host of familiar faces in his party to face the American team, including the recently naturalised forward trio of Everton Camargo, Juninho and Stefan Pereira.

There is a call, too, for Timothy Chow, the 17-year-old HKU23 midfielder who was part of Hong Kong’s Asian Games semi-final squad last year.

Most of Premier League champions Kitchee’s foreign contingent are included, with places in the extended squad for Ruslan Mingazov, who scored twice for Turkmenistan against Hong Kong in November, Charlie Scott, Mikael Severo, Jakob Jantscher and Cleiton Velasques.