Taiwan suffered a major blow ahead of today’s soccer match against Cambodia in Phnom Penh when captain Chen Po-liang (陳柏良) suffered a fractured finger during training and had to fly home for medical treatment, with the national squad to miss Chen’s command of the midfield and his on-field leadership.
The national squad needs to win in tonight’s clash against hosts Cambodia at the National Olympic Stadium in a qualifier to gain a spot in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup.
Chen arrived back in Taiwan yesterday afternoon with his left hand in a cast, after sustaining a fracture on the ring finger during training in Phnom Penh on Sunday, and has been ruled out of the match.
Before his departure, Chen, who plays for Hangzhou Greentown in the Chinese Super League, gave a pep talk to his teammates in an effort to boost team spirit and confidence.
“The team is without foreign-based players, so it is time for Taiwan-based players to show everyone what you are capable of and win this game,” Chen said, as manager Satoshi Imai and coaches looked on.
Imai said the team has gelled together after recent training in the Philippines, and all players would give their best efforts to gain a victory against Cambodia and advance to the next round.
For the second leg of the home-and-away tie against Cambodia, Taiwan have the tough task of overcoming the hosts with an expected full-capacity crowd cheering for the home side.
On Thursday last week, Chen scored in the first-leg match in Kaohsiung and led Taiwan to a 2-2 draw.
Taiwan need to win or achieve a 4-4 aggregate score line or better to advance.
Taiwan are also without another foreign-based player, Xavier Chen (陳昌源), the Belgian-Taiwanese star defender who plays for KV Mechelen in Belgium’s top professional soccer league.
In a controversial dispute, Xavier Chen last month announced his retirement from the national squad, after alleging the nation’s governing body for soccer, the Chinese Taipei Football Association, had reneged on paying him for travel expenses and appearance fees.
Taiwan must shut down Cambodia’s two attacking midfielders, Chan Vathanaka and Prak Mony Udom, as their offensive flair poses a constant threat in front of the goal, and also contain Keo Sokpheng and Chhin Chhoeun, who scored in last week’s match, experts said.
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