Defeat in thriller

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuJGmrjvbEA8fvpkb83f4-9d5W-1FWAkRESOF3cW2c8J2_1LCuqJLpF0cP65QGo_kbeQd-jhhqabaCD_rk15YKEtKRdrM2mVap9Mt6hsOUwgFCx0xQynfzDCL8Fy7B6lrUIMeeiR8XH1Z/s1600/camkyrgyz1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589917113265883682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuJGmrjvbEA8fvpkb83f4-9d5W-1FWAkRESOF3cW2c8J2_1LCuqJLpF0cP65QGo_kbeQd-jhhqabaCD_rk15YKEtKRdrM2mVap9Mt6hsOUwgFCx0xQynfzDCL8Fy7B6lrUIMeeiR8XH1Z/s400/camkyrgyz1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 289px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Cambodia line-up: [Back Row LtoR]: Mic, Nasa, Tiny, S Rithy, Pheng, Sopanha. [Front Row]: Rady, Sothearith, Pancharong, Sokumpheak, PM Udom</span><br /></span></div>Cambodia ended their Group C games in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">AFC Challenge Cup</span> tonight with a bang, going down 4-3 to the former Russian Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Head coach Lee Tae-Hoon tinkered with his starting line-up again and for this consolation rubber, made five changes from the previous match. The game started badly as usual, with Cambodia allowing their opponents to gain the upper hand with a goal from Aziz Sydykov after just 4 minutes. On the back foot again. A headed goal from Kouch Sokumpheak on 38 minutes looked likely to take the teams in level at the interval until a Rustem Usanov header in time added on gave the Kyrgyz the advantage at the break. Not to be outdone, Sokumpheak stepped up to the mark again, 3 minutes into the 2nd half to level it at 2-2. In what sounds like an intriguing encounter, there was some controversy over the third Kyrgyz goal on 79 minutes by substitute Cholponbek Esenkul and the same player netted again 5 minutes later to put them firmly in front. A Sok Rithy header 2 minutes from time caused some flutters but Cambodia couldn't find a way back and succumbed 4-3 at the final whistle. <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Cambodia's team: </span>Mic, Rady, Pancharong (T Udom 84), S Rithy, Tiny, Sopanha (Veasna 75), Sothearath, PM Udom, Sokumpheak, Nasa, Pheng (Laboravy 48). Subs not used: Bunchhay, Piseth, C Rithy, Chhoeurn. Attendance: 1,000.<br />After the match, coach Lee offered these pearls of wisdom to the assembled press. "Compared to the previous two games, we played very well tonight. That's sign of improvement. We had just four days to practice together before travelling to the Maldives. We failed to score in the last two games but tonight we scored, which is good." Can someone remind the coach that he had the players together for months, not days, prior to this competition. Also, you need to score goals to win any game, but if he paid more attention to his team's defending and not conceding early goals, then that would be the starting point. In each of the three games Cambodia gave themselves a mountain to climb by letting in very early goals, something which the coach fails to mention. The Kyrgyz camp had a different take on the game. Murat, their assistant coach said; "We made so many changes for this game. Though we won, we are not happy with the result and the performance. Cambodia tried hard and they scored from every chance they created." Earlier in the evening, hosts Maldives drew 0-0 with Tajikistan to claim top spot in the group on goal difference. Both teams progress through to the finals next year. Cambodia do not.

Defeat in thriller

Cambodia line-up: [Back Row LtoR]: Mic, Nasa, Tiny, S Rithy, Pheng, Sopanha. [Front Row]: Rady, Sothearith, Pancharong, Sokumpheak, PM Udom ...

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Tasting defeat

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP473PHpfg-sI0a5_Dv2IHRSJB59AUQ2BaszKzXxe39eOb7htMKNGvftYg1OamjIjGnPhazJlqXsKzApxZr1OzwE-j9LPqopdrnxXFCZra-rzCbZLYwHnOo4B6XKsBWb4ZjE3TmeQnKdqg/s1600/camtaji1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587370544090605474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP473PHpfg-sI0a5_Dv2IHRSJB59AUQ2BaszKzXxe39eOb7htMKNGvftYg1OamjIjGnPhazJlqXsKzApxZr1OzwE-j9LPqopdrnxXFCZra-rzCbZLYwHnOo4B6XKsBWb4ZjE3TmeQnKdqg/s400/camtaji1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Cambodia v Tajikistan; Back Row LtoR: Soksana, C Rithy, Bunchhay, S Rithy, Laboravy, Tiny. Front Row: Rady, Sothearath, Veasna, Pancharong, Sokumpheak</span><br /></span></div>Can you adam and eve it? Cambodia went behind to another goal in the 1st minute against Tajikistan tonight in their <span style="font-weight: bold;">AFC Challenge Cup</span> Group C tie. Needing a win to have a real chance to stay in the hunt for a place in the finals, Cambodia had a case of deja vu after Maldives scored in the 1st minute of their match two days ago. In their recurring nightmare, Nuriddin Davronov netted from close range for the former Russian republic, who won their first match against Kyrgyzstan. Two more goals in the last ten minutes killed off Cambodia's challenge, as they went down 3-0. Davronjon Ergashev netted after 82 minutes and then Ibragim Rabimov scored a third with a couple of minutes remaining. Cambodia's coach Lee Tae-Hoon made no less than six changes from the starting line-up he chose in the 1st game, as he responded to the dismal showing. However, his new plan didn't work out either as the group favourites always had the upper hand and came on strong as the game wore on. Two defeats in two games leaves Cambodia out of contention, with just a consolation game against Kyrgyzstan to come on Friday. The only player he hasn't used so far is the Army's Thong Udom, so he will definitely get a game in that one. The Cambodia line-up was: Bunchhay, Rady, Pancharong, Tiny, S Rithy, Sothearath (Sopanha 67), Veasna, Soksana (Pheng 56), C Rithy, Laboravy, Sokumpheak (Chhoeurn 77). Subs not used: Mic, Raksmey, Piseth, T Udom, PM Udom, El Nasa. Attendance 550. Earlier in the day, hosts Maldives scored another success with a 2-1 win over the Kyrg team to book their place in the finals.

Tasting defeat

Cambodia v Tajikistan; Back Row LtoR: Soksana, C Rithy, Bunchhay, S Rithy, Laboravy, Tiny. Front Row: Rady, Sothearath, Veasna, Pancharong, ...

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Aftermath

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtVkZOVT_dALuds8mnWM0whpmEEtAR_AjFfaPvADph6thk0_WsUHLIE-YkKR0MRd7Cr1FmaXAijyxYk3pMI-Cr_jMteqgqc-JUcJXPQr4HFPfTdBlDpIJdgJvRhXXTl6RqIqLMMqtBtGO/s1600/small05438.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586832695627115234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtVkZOVT_dALuds8mnWM0whpmEEtAR_AjFfaPvADph6thk0_WsUHLIE-YkKR0MRd7Cr1FmaXAijyxYk3pMI-Cr_jMteqgqc-JUcJXPQr4HFPfTdBlDpIJdgJvRhXXTl6RqIqLMMqtBtGO/s400/small05438.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 376px; height: 147px;" /></a>I really didn't want to hear this from the Maldives camp after they comprehensively dismissed the Cambodian national team in last night's <span style="font-weight: bold;">AFC Challenge Cup</span> tie, winning 4-0. The Maldives skipper, star player and hat-trick hero, Ali Ashfaq told the press after the game: "The coach doesn't know much about us. The coach asked before the game, how we wanted to play. We told the coach, we wanted to press and play a pressured game for the first 20 minutes and to score a goal during that period. The plan worked. Now the coach would know our level of football, so he could make a plan for the next games."<br />The new Maldives coach, Argentinian Diego Cruciani, a former coach of <span class="bodytext-news">Bangladesh, who's monthly salary and other expenses are paid for by Kuwait, agreed. "You should not congratulate me. All the credit goes to the players. I just had three practice sessions with the players and I don't know them very well. So I asked them before the match, how they want to face the game. They said, coach we want to win the game. We want to play a pressing game in the first few minutes. I told them, yes let's do it! So all the credit goes to them."<br />Does his salary as the coach go to them to I wonder? Is this player power in action? Maybe Lee Tae-Hoon would do well to ask his players how they wanted to play in the next game against </span>Tajikistan on Wednesday in the 2nd match of Group C. And then the South Korean FA, who pay Lee's salary, can pass that onto the players. They certainly couldn't do any worse. We have to ask the question how a country of 300,000 fishermen and hotel personnel can so comprehensively beat a Cambodian team (drawn from a population of 14 million) after just three training sessions with their new coach. Lee has been in charge of the national team since August and between the unsuccessful 3-game stint in the Suzuki Cup and qualification for the current competition, he's had almost unrestricted access to his national squad for that whole period, playing a plethora of friendly games, including a 4-1 spanking by a Korean university team, and training sessions. Yet despite all that we arrive in the Maldives without key players, left behind by the coach in a fit of pique, and get another walloping, this time meted out by a team below us in the FIFA rankings. I'm not surprised as we suffered an ignominious loss to one of the region's whipping-boys in Macau as well, only scraping through 5-4 on aggregate. All in all it doesn't add up to carrying great armfuls of optimism into Wednesday's game against the strongest team in Group C from the ex-Russian republic of Tajikistan. I fear the worst. I am equally concerned that we could find ourselves out in the international wilderness with World Cup qualifying matches coming up in the middle of the year, which if we carry on in the same vein, will most likely result in the same disappointment. Cambodia are ranked in 30th place amongst the Asian qualifiers and will know their World Cup opponents on 30 March.<span style="font-family:helvetica;font-size:85%;"><br /></span>

Aftermath

I really didn't want to hear this from the Maldives camp after they comprehensively dismissed the Cambodian national team in last night...

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Sunk in the Maldives

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNvRexsiAId6zKE0e8RIQC0Nj2N5HQ8cHD6tNxogTQVHoGednXlvLKvO24Gr-Jw-tsy9aIv6iBgPwVVg7F9LH-JuGJRyCGLCtIbz27U3HT7Rn_brNG7Vd8BJ0Y6IqTmkdXB8BBpkntECI/s1600/maldi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586589726234447058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNvRexsiAId6zKE0e8RIQC0Nj2N5HQ8cHD6tNxogTQVHoGednXlvLKvO24Gr-Jw-tsy9aIv6iBgPwVVg7F9LH-JuGJRyCGLCtIbz27U3HT7Rn_brNG7Vd8BJ0Y6IqTmkdXB8BBpkntECI/s400/maldi.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Ali Ashfaq nets for Maldives in the 41st minute; he went onto score a hat-trick</span></span><br /></div>A 1st half of woe for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cambodia national team</span> in Male. Maldives, the home nation in this AFC Challenge Cup Group C qualifying match scored in the 1st and the 41st minute to take a 2-nil lead into the half-time interval, in front of 8,000 spectators. From the live commentary on maldivesoccer.com it looked like the Maldives had most of the ball in the 1st 45 minutes, with Khuon Laboravy finally getting Cambodia's first shot on target in the 39th minute. Maldives took the earliest of leads when Mukhuthar Naseer netted in the opening minute from an acute angle. The worst possible start for Cambodia. With the half-time break approaching, the Maldives, through their influential skipper Ali Ashfaq scored their 2nd goal, leaving Cambodia with a mountain to climb. We did a little better in the 2nd half but two more goals from the talismanic Ali Ashfaq, in the 83rd and 87th minutes left Cambodia to lick their wounds after a 4-0 defeat. The starting line-up for Cambodia: Mic, Raksmey, Pancharong, Piseth, Tiny, Sothearath, Sopanha, PM Udom (C Rithy 74), Laboravy (Chhoeurn 45), Nasa (Pheng 44), Sokumpheak. Unused subs: Bunchhay, Rady, S Rithy, Soksana, T Udom, Veasna. The Group C favourites are Tajikistan and they beat arch-rivals and neighbours Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the earlier kick-off, with an own goal three minutes from time.<br />Cambodia's South Korean coach Lee Tae-Hoon admitted his team were well beaten. "The Maldivian side were too good for us. They played superbly today. We have got some very young players and we are gaining experience from these matches. The opponents that we face in these matches are very good and it's a good experience for the players. They would learn from the mistakes they did today and hopefully they would improve in the next game."<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiXTJ7lE7wezeYeIHfqd7lRlCw1LX92XkqxmJ_Ny3dxtA1Zx9bBArEqTZm2RCtjrQNT_9KOsx3upHfuXstHZbj2QOwhezCN2qxJUvXqlugVSiAvFuchkK-TQQwPS9TGnfvoHIiJ2R77-gh/s1600/cammald1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586712252672678754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiXTJ7lE7wezeYeIHfqd7lRlCw1LX92XkqxmJ_Ny3dxtA1Zx9bBArEqTZm2RCtjrQNT_9KOsx3upHfuXstHZbj2QOwhezCN2qxJUvXqlugVSiAvFuchkK-TQQwPS9TGnfvoHIiJ2R77-gh/s400/cammald1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Cambodia's starting line-up v Maldives: Back Row LtoR: Mic, PM Udom, Sopanha, Piseth, Tiny, Laboravy. Front Row; Sothearath, Pancharong, Nasa, Sokumpheak, Raksmey.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BNriW__UOxo" width="360" frameborder="0" height="300"></iframe><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span></div>

Sunk in the Maldives

Ali Ashfaq nets for Maldives in the 41st minute; he went onto score a hat-trick A 1st half of woe for the Cambodia national team in Male. M...

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A tough ask for Cambodia

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGdDTCPHhb4q5HCjOlv1iy-IB-44upA1SEuL5apwb7IA_U_rIPMBok6T4PUlb2WK6aOiwOnCGoD6LXmyIiGbhdExrMfohrQzu6nlQkphsZOeBg8-Y_TlIL6IT9NimgzhwRMQRlE12IKvg/s1600/cam2011.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586240904719916114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGdDTCPHhb4q5HCjOlv1iy-IB-44upA1SEuL5apwb7IA_U_rIPMBok6T4PUlb2WK6aOiwOnCGoD6LXmyIiGbhdExrMfohrQzu6nlQkphsZOeBg8-Y_TlIL6IT9NimgzhwRMQRlE12IKvg/s400/cam2011.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 303px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Cambodian national team prepare for departure</span><br /></span></div>It pains me to say it but the Cambodian national team will really have their work cut out to progress from their <span style="font-weight: bold;">AFC Challenge Cup</span> group matches, that are being staged in Male, in the Maldives this week. On paper the Cambodia team are ranked by FIFA as the 2nd best team in the group in 154th place, though with home advantage I expect Maldives to put in that extra effort when the teams meet later tonight. Maldives are ranked in 161st place and will be no push-overs. The best team in the group are undoubtedly Tajikistan (ranked 148th) and they grabbed third place in the 2010 Challenge Cup competition, so the match against Cambodia on Wednesday (23 Mar) will be a tough ask for our boys. Incidentally, Tajikistan won the competition in 2006 and were runners-up in 2008. The final game on Friday (25 Mar) will be against 174th placed Kyrgyzstan, but they finished in 3rd spot in 2006 and have a good club pedigree in the President's Cup. All 3 of Cambodia's matches begin at 11pm Cambodian time.<br /><br />In the 2010 qualification group matches for the AFC Challenge Cup, Cambodia went down narrowly to host country Bangladesh (0-1) and Myanmar (0-1) and beat Macau (2-1) but it wasn't enough to get through the group stage. The Maldives also didn't get through their group, held in Male, despite wins over Philippines (3-2) and Bhutan (5-0), as a 3-1 defeat against Turkmenistan was their undoing, on goal difference. The other country to play in the group qualifiers was Kyrgyzstan, who went through courtesy of more goals scored after two drawn matches against Nepal and Palestine. Once they were through to the competition proper, Kyrgyzstan started well with a 2-1 win over India before bowing out with defeats against North Korea (4-0) and Turmenistan (1-0). As for Tajikistan, they were automatic qualifiers for the finals last year, and despite a 2-1 loss to Bangladesh in the opening game, they roared back to beat Sri Lanka 3-1 and Myanmar 3-0 to reach the semi-final. They lost 2-0 to Turkmenistan but did claim 3rd place with a 1-0 win over Myanmar.

A tough ask for Cambodia

The Cambodian national team prepare for departure It pains me to say it but the Cambodian national team will really have their work cut out ...

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Shock exclusions

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxK5x0E_BAaN_hS27Eli1lRNA5moLe0W63pbeG2vxjTz2mXKo8BB1R93ajytClq5jc_Q-TkWx5sxdNtJfwmuGUirA8d2UNl1U2uX4IrFqbntmug0-FNzBe6ull1dm0iii7hbQOoIpOloI/s1600/Borey+small.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584237492329912658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxK5x0E_BAaN_hS27Eli1lRNA5moLe0W63pbeG2vxjTz2mXKo8BB1R93ajytClq5jc_Q-TkWx5sxdNtJfwmuGUirA8d2UNl1U2uX4IrFqbntmug0-FNzBe6ull1dm0iii7hbQOoIpOloI/s200/Borey+small.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 200px;" /></a>The 20-man squad that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cambodia</span> will be taking to the Maldives for the final qualifying group stage of the AFC Challenge Cup has thrown up a couple of shock selections, not least the exclusion of two players who most observers would expect to be in the starting line-up for any of the country's international matches, let alone the three massively important games to be played in less than a week. Cambodia meet Maldives (21 Mar), Tajikistan (23 Mar) and Kyrgyzstan (25 Mar) in Group C of the competition in Male, and I think South Korean coach Lee Tae-Hoon has dropped a massive clanger in not including Phnom Penh Crown's San Narith whilst Sisaket's Khim Borey (<span style="font-style: italic;">pictured</span>) is also missing, and the coach's selection also leaves out Army wideman Phuong Soksana and another Thai-based player, Srey Veasna. Narith has been a versatile midfielder-cum-defensive lynchpin for Cambodia for the last few seasons and is a major surprise to see him cast aside, whilst Borey has recently played his first game for his new Thai Premier Division club and is playing at the highest level of anyone in the Cambodian team. Of course, having just joined a new team puts pressure on Borey to stay and fight for his place in his club's starting line-up but the striker is one of those players who would do everything in his power to play for his country, so I'd like to hear Tae-Hoon's take on it. Soksana has proved to be a good impact player on occasions and Veasna too, had a great season for Phnom Penh Crown last term before his move to Thailand. Instead, Lee Tae-Hoon has picked inexperienced players at this level of competition such as Touch Panhcharong, Chhin Chhoeurn, Thong Udom, Suon Veasna, Sok Pheng and others, in what could be seen as the country's most important series of matches this year. In the local press the coach has been bemoaning his squad's lack of preparation because of the Hun Sen Cup competition which has just ended, and yet on the other hand he's dispensed with the services of San Narith, who is fresh and raring to go after Crown's quarter-final exit from the cup. The full squad is: Ouk Mic, Peng Bunchhay, Pheak Rady, Lay Raksmey, Tieng Tiny, Touch Panhcharong, Say Piseth, Thong Udom, Sok Rithy; Keo Sokngorn, Khuon Laboravy, Chhin Chhoeurn, Chan Rithy, Chhun Sothearath, Prak Mony Udom, Sun Sopanha, Suon Veasna; Kouch Sokumpheak, Sam El Nasa, Sok Pheng.

Shock exclusions

The 20-man squad that Cambodia will be taking to the Maldives for the final qualifying group stage of the AFC Challenge Cup has thrown up...

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On top of the rankings

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGET44mInDxqCjDh5JvhrCpWLmkkoJ2ckCLs3-fyHyuw3YdLoZre9hygZPYfH2IROrGaItcZvQk-a-L1kVtH5_-5ldfP1XHjyFhuKFS4Ui3OIlEvWOZH-dnlKxakiotxZ_AkDeXjGCRfG/s1600/natvmacau2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582383516402886674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGET44mInDxqCjDh5JvhrCpWLmkkoJ2ckCLs3-fyHyuw3YdLoZre9hygZPYfH2IROrGaItcZvQk-a-L1kVtH5_-5ldfP1XHjyFhuKFS4Ui3OIlEvWOZH-dnlKxakiotxZ_AkDeXjGCRfG/s400/natvmacau2.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The Cambodian national team in Macau; [Back row, LtoR] Rithy, Sopanha, Mic, Laboravy, Piseth, Borey [front row] Tiny, Raksmey, Pancharong, Sothearath, Sokumpheak</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Stop Press</span>....The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cambodian national football team </span>rock up to 154th place in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, their highest-ever placing. Jumping twelve places, they reached a peak since the rankings were introduced in 1993, following their AFC Challenge Cup success over Macau. Not that it really means diddly-squat because it's what happens on the field that really matters, but as they approach the AFC Challenge Cup Group C games in the Madives from 21-25 March, they are now the 2nd best-ranked team in the group and as such are on course to qualify for the finals in early 2012, as one of the two qualifiers from each of the four groups. On paper at least. Here are their games in the AFC Challenge Cup later this month, with rankings and dates of the matches in brackets; Maldives (161st, 21 Mar), Tajikistan (148th, 23 Mar) and Kyrgyzstan (174th, 25 Mar).

On top of the rankings

The Cambodian national team in Macau; [Back row, LtoR] Rithy, Sopanha, Mic, Laboravy, Piseth, Borey [front row] Tiny, Raksmey, Pancharong, S...

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