The Football Federation
of Cambodia (FFC) has announced that the Kingdom’s U-19 team will be playing in
Uzbekistan early next year.
The announcement came
after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) provided a new schedule for the
delayed AFC U-19 Championship 2020.
The tournament, which is
among the most prestigious in Asia, will now be played in the Central Asian
country from March 3 to 20, 2021, according to the AFC.
The U-19 Championship was
originally scheduled to be held from November 14-31. But the coronavirus
situation forced the AFC to postpone it.
Cambodia is among the 16
countries that have qualified for the tournament. The other 15 qualifiers are
Iran, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, South Korea, Iraq, Vietnam, Laos, Tajikistan,
Qatar, Australia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Yemen and Bahrain.
The Kingdom has been
eager to play after qualifying for the first time in nearly 50 years. The
Koupreys are in Group A together with the national teams of Iran, Indonesia and
Uzbekistan.
While waiting for the new
schedule, the FFC has been busy with the selection process under the guidance
of Japanese coach Koji Gyotoku. Japanese goalkeeping guru Toshihiro Mitsumaru
was recently hired by the FFC to assist Gyotoku.
The tryouts have been
going on for the last four months. In July, the FFC called up 38 players.
Another 32 players were called up in October. It is expected that the FFC will
announce the final 23-player lineup in the next few weeks.
Football observers are
expecting Sieng Chanthea, Lim Pisoth, Soeuth Nava and several other young stars
to make the team.
Unlike the other
qualifiers, Cambodia has yet to schedule international friendly matches ahead
of the tournament. Indonesia has already played friendlies against Bulgaria,
Croatia and Saudi Arabia, while Qatar is scheduled to face Iraq on Nov 15.
The tournament is held
every two years. Saudi Arabia won the title two years ago.
In addition to the
trophies and sizeable purse, the top four teams plus Indonesia will qualify for
the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be held in Indonesia from May 20 to
June 12, 2021.