The members of the Cambodian national football team have shared their goal of achieving a strong result in their upcoming international friendly match against the Tajikistan national team, despite awareness of the visitor’s strengths. The match will take place at the Morodok Techo National Stadium at 7pm this Thursday evening.

First-choice goalkeeper Vireak Dara, who previously played for the Kingdom’s U23 side against Tajikistan, affirmed that this week’s opponents are a high-quality team with strong defense and attacking capabilities.

Speaking through the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC), Vireak Dara gave a realistic appraisal of the match.

“The Tajikistan national team is a strong side that prefers to play physically, with strong defense and an aggressive style. But for me, I still have hope. In every match, we must have hope, and we will try our best,” he said.

Forward Sa Ty expressed his excitement at being given the opportunity to join the national team for the friendly. Even though he knows it will be a tough challenge due to Tajikistan’s strength, he assured fans: “We will give our utmost effort to win the match on June 5”.

Sieng Chanthea, a forward from Boeung Ket who recently won the Golden Boot for scoring the most goals in the just-wrapped up Hun Sen Cup acknowledged the physical advantage of the Tajik players, who are larger and favour an aggressive style of play. He emphasised that Cambodia’s Kouprey needs to pay close attention to this.

Coach Koji Gyotoku has explained the need to blood young players at the highest level, in order to develop depth and protect the future of Cambodian football. FFC

Due to the potential difficulty posed by Tajikistan’s physical style, Lim Pisoth, a forward from Phnom Penh Crown, remarked: “Tajikistan is a good and strong team, so we have to prepare ourselves well”.

Hav Soknet, a young striker from ISI Dangkor Senchey who just won Best Young Player of the 2024–2025 Cambodian Premier League season, expressed his determination ahead of the match.

“As a player, you must always have 100% belief in your desire to win. That’s why we must give our all,” he said.

Cambodia’s Japanese head coach Koji Gyotoku called up a significant number of young players for the current training camp.

Notably, many Cambodian-naturalised foreign players with strong form — such as Yudai Ogawa, Takaki Ose, Nieto Rondon and Abdel Kader Coulibaly — were not included. However, Koji affirmed that giving opportunities to young players is a positive step.

“From one generation to the next, changes must be made. We cannot select the same players every time. We need young players to come in as replacements, and giving opportunities to youth is very important because they are the future representatives of Cambodian football,” he explained to the media.