Kaohsiung City: A clean sheet and goals is the order of the day from coach Toshiaki Imai as Chinese Taipei prepare to host Cambodia in the first leg of their 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying play-off at the National Stadium on Thursday.
Imai’s side finished bottom of a four-team Group F in the previous qualifying round without registering a single point as Thailand, Iraq and Vietnam all claimed a maximum of six points from their encounters with Chinese Taipei.
But with Cambodia also ending up at the foot of Group E without a point, the teams now go head-to-head over two legs with a place in the third round of qualifiers for the continental competition in the United Arab Emirates at stake.
The losers following next Tuesday’s second leg, meanwhile, will face a final round of play-offs later this year to determine whether they advance to the next qualification round.
“We are going into the game with a defensive mind-set as to keep a clean sheet is the top priority,” said Imai, whose team were defeated 2-0 by Cambodia the last time the sides played each other in a friendly in 2014.
“But we would also like to score as many goals as possible so when we travel to Cambodia we will be in a good situation.
“Our positioning and defending are the most important things; we have been training hard on this and I want to see a different mind-set in terms of how the players position themselves and defend.”
Click here for overview of AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Play-off Round
Cambodia also endured a difficult second round of qualifiers, scoring just once in eight games as Japan, Syria, Singapore and Afghanistan all posted back-to-back wins.
But Lee Tae-hoon’s side warmed up for the crucial tie in Kaohsiung City with a morale-boosting 2-0 friendly victory over Timor Leste in Phnom Penh on Sunday thanks to goals from Phoung Soksana and Khuon Laboravy.
And Cambodia will be looking for another positive showing against Chinese Taipei on Thursday to put them in a strong position for the return fixture in front of what will be a packed Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium next week.
“I like dynamic and exciting play, so (tomorrow) that is how we are going to try and play,” said Lee. “But Chinese Taipei are at home so they will also try to win the game.
“I have watched their qualifying games and they have developed more as a team – they play with a faster tempo and are more balanced than they were previously, so it will be hard to win.
“Away games are difficult and my players have not had much recovery time, but I rested some players against Timor-Leste and we have prepared well, so I hope we can put in a good performance.”
Source: the-afc.com