New faces called up for HK’s World Cup qualifiers

Hong Kong’s men’s football team have called up a handful of new players to replace the mainland-based players unavailable for next month’s Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

Eastern’s Brazilian-born trio of Clayton, Diego Eli, and Fernando are amongst the new call-ups. Kitchee forward Matthew Orr has also been named for the first time.

Players who play their club football in mainland will not be available for selection due to quarantine restrictions. That list includes defender Leung Nok-hang who plays for Zhejiang Pro and midfielder Tan Chun-lok who plays for Guangzhou City.

Mixu Paatelainen’s side have not seen competitive action since the East Asian Championships in December 2019.

Hong Kong have five points from five games in their World Cup qualifying group. They fly to Bahrain on May 29, where they will play the first of three remaining games on June 3 against Iran with the leaders Iraq and second-placed Bahrain to follow.

The top two teams progress to the next round of World Cup qualifying. Teams are also playing for qualification to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China.