Cambodian coach Koji Gyotoku (centre-left) shakes hands with his Tajik counterpart Gela Shekiladze at a press conference on Wednesday. FFC
Tajikistan national football head coach, Gela Shekiladze, has shared his belief that that despite missing several key players, the Cambodian national team will still give 100% effort in tonight’s international friendly. The match is scheduled to take place at 7pm, at the Olympic National Stadium.
In a Wednesday night press conference, Shekiladze acknowledged that the absence of key players is something that often happens in football. He specifically noted that Cambodia will be without several important players, but he believes the players who are available will play their hardest.
“Even though Cambodia are missing some of their key players, I believe they will give 100% effort. It’s normal in football that players occasionally miss matches due to injuries or other reasons,” he said.
Naturalised foreign players such as Yudai Ogawa, Takaki Ose, Nieto Rondon and Abdel Kader Coulibaly were not included in the Cambodian training camp ahead of the match. In addition, several prominent Cambodian players who usually start in the first XI — including Soeuy Visal, On Chanpolin and Nicolas Doeung Taylor (Nick Taylor) — are absent.
“Even without those key players, I think the replacements will give 100%. Our team will also give 100%. With good coaching, good organisation, strong staff and assistants, and talented players, I believe both teams will perform well in this match,” said Shekiladze.
Tajikistan's national team trains at the National Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, ahead of their match against hosts Cambodia on Thursday night. FFC
Cambodian head coach Koji Gyotoku described Tajikistan as a strong team with well-built, talented, high-quality players. However, he welcomed the challenge and said he would try to give as many Cambodian players as possible a chance to play, so they could showcase their potential.
Coach Koji acknowledged that some of the players in the current Cambodian squad are still tired, and others are not yet in peak condition, but he said he would adjust accordingly and push them to perform as best as possible — even better than the players who are absent.
“What I want from the young players who will be on the pitch this time is for them to give everything they have, to prove that they can perform even better than the absent players. I want them to showcase their abilities to the fullest,” he said.
