Hong Kong confident of World Cup qualifying booster against Bhutan

Coach Kim is confident his charges can get off to a winning start against Bhutan. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Coach Kim Pan-gon believes his team will be too strong for the Himalayan minnows as they begin their campaign to reach 2018 tournament in Russia

It has been almost eight years since Hong Kong last won a World Cup qualifying match, but that barren spell should end when they play hosts to Bhutan at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday night.

The coach and the players have said they're confident of a victory to kick off their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign positively in a group that also features Maldives, China and Qatar.

The small Himalayan nation was the world's lowest ranked national team for much of last year. Only a headline-grabbing win over Sri Lanka in the two-legged preliminary stage of Asian zone qualifying saw Bhutan surge up the rankings when the groups were drawn in April.

They sit at 159th in the world, four places above Hong Kong.

There is no professional league in the country and the national team players all have full-time jobs outside the game.

Their captain Karma Shedrup Tshering, for example, is a pilot, while 19-year-old Chencho Gyeltshen, who scored both goals against Sir Lanka in the 2-1 win, is a student.

Minnows Bhutan made the group qualifying stage by virtue of a play-off win against Sri Lanka. They are ranked 159th in the world, four places above Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

Bhutan were humbled 10-1 in a friendly match against Thai club side Honda Ladkrabang FC when they toured there in preparation for Thursday's clash.

Hong Kong captain Chan Wai-ho, who played in the last World Cup qualifying win - 8-1 against Timor Leste in 2007 - has almost forgotten the taste of victory in World Cup qualifiers.

"I really look forward to a victory in a big tournament such as the World Cup qualifiers," said the centre half. "Hopefully we can secure at least third place, and maybe even second place with a little bit of luck.

"The opening match will be important and we must try to get into the match as soon as possible and score goals to boost confidence."

Coach Kim Pan-gon is expecting a big win.

"We studied the footage of their two matches against Sri Lanka and they are still not up to our level. We can handle it," he said.

"We have made very good progress since the training camp in Malaysia and I will push the players to score as many goals as possible [tonight] so that they can enjoy the sweet taste of a win."

Source: South China Morning Post