Under the lights at Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong finally found the finishing line that had eluded it for more than seven decades. A 2-0 victory over Cambodia on Saturday delivered the first trophy in the national team’s history, sealing the inaugural ASEAN Challenge Cup on home soil.
Key takeaways
- Hong Kong beat Cambodia 2-0 in the final at Kai Tak Sports Park.
- The side, ranked 153rd in the FIFA standings, had waited more than 70 years for its first senior international title.
- The ASEAN Challenge Cup involved six nations in its first edition.
- FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented the trophy after the final.
- Paris-born Raphaël Merkies came on in the 77th minute and celebrated the first trophy of his career.
A landmark night for Hong Kong
The new tournament was introduced by FIFA last year and sits below the Southeast Asian Championship in the regional hierarchy. Myanmar, Laos, Brunei and Timor joined Hong Kong and Cambodia in the six-team inaugural competition.
Hong Kong’s previous best result on the continental stage had come in 1956, when it finished third at the Asian Cup. Its first recognised international fixture was played in Manila in June 1954, ending in a 4-2 win against Afghanistan.
Now a Special Administrative Region of China after the end of British rule in 1997, Hong Kong had never previously lifted a senior international trophy. The result against Cambodia changed that record in front of its own supporters.
Losada’s squad and Merkies’ moment
The team has been coached since last year by Roberto Losada, the 49-year-old Spaniard who also holds Hong Kong nationality. He built strong ties with the territory during spells at Kitchee, Resources Capital and Double Flower, where he ended his playing career in the late 2010s.
Every player in the squad is based either in Hong Kong’s domestic league or in China. Among them is Merkies, a 24-year-old former Parisian who is contracted to Shandong Taishan.
Merkies moved to Hong Kong at the age of 14 and is also of Dutch and Laotian heritage. Naturalised for Hong Kong, he entered the final in the 77th minute as the hosts moved towards a historic 2-0 success.
