Hong Kong head coach Ashley Westwood has strongly rejected suggestions that the Bangladesh team have been poorly treated in the lead-up to their AFC Asian Cup qualifier in Hong Kong. The two sides are set to face off at a sold-out Kai Tak Stadium on Tuesday night, with 50,000 tickets snapped up within 90 minutes of release.
The clash has generated significant excitement after Hong Kong edged a thrilling 4-3 win in Dhaka last Thursday. Speaking at a packed pre-match press conference on Monday, Westwood addressed questions about reports of dissatisfaction from the Bangladeshi camp regarding training arrangements.
“I can guarantee you they are getting much better than we did in Bangladesh,” Westwood said. “If anything, I am moaning about our association doing too much for them.”
According to Asian Football Confederation guidelines, host nations are only required to provide visiting teams with training access from two days before the match. However, Bangladesh were allowed to use Tai Po Sports Ground on Saturday, three days before the fixture.
They then trained at Tsing Yi Sports Ground on Sunday, followed by a session at Kai Tak Stadium on Monday. The visiting side also requested that the stadium’s temperature be set to 23 degrees under the closed roof.
Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera, who spoke after Westwood, acknowledged that while conditions were not ideal, they were sufficient. “The facilities definitely could have been better, but were enough for us to train,” Cabrera said.
The highly anticipated qualifier promises to be another closely contested encounter, with both teams looking to secure crucial points in the group stage.
