Taiwan manager Henry Vom has put the national team through their paces over the past few days to adjust to the hot conditions in Kuwait, as they look to even the score against Nepal with a win in their second-round FIFA World Cup qualifier at midnight tonight.
The revamped squad is basically composed of the best players from the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL), with Spanish-Taiwanese playmaker Emilio Estevez Tsai the only member of the team who is based overseas.
In their remaining three Group B games, Taiwan face Nepal tonight, then take on group leaders Australia on Monday and Kuwait on June 15, with all group matches at the Jaber al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
Taiwan can salvage some pride if they start with a victory, to avenge their surprising 2-0 defeat to Nepal in their first-round encounter in September 2019, when Nepal forward Anjan Bista scored a brace to silence the crowd at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
Vom has urged the team to go all out and prove their worth with a good display for supporters back home, as Taiwan have suffered five losses in five matches and have already been eliminated from advancing to the third round.
Besides Tsai, Taiwan had called up another overseas-based player, Swedish-Taiwanese Miguel Sandberg, who plays for Djursholm’s Under-19 team in Sweden, but the 18-year-old said that he had a cold and could not travel.
The squad’s core members mainly come from defending TFPL champions Tainan TSG (Taiwan Steel Group), Taipower, Taichung Futuro, Hang Yuan and Tatung, although a number of top players turned down the opportunity to play, citing the need to quarantine, health concerns and other personal issues.
Midfielder Wu Chun-ching, goalkeeper Pan Wen-chieh, striker Chen Juei-chieh and defender Chen Wei-chuan all play for Tainan TSG.
“Our team begins training at 7pm, as all three matches are at night. When we are on the pitch in the evening, it is still at about 42°C. It is a very different environment ... than the players are used to,” Vom said yesterday.
“All players are trying to quickly acclimatize to the hot temperatures. The heat and aridness ... cause dryness and discomfort when breathing, but our coaching staff are helping the team to overcome these local conditions,” he said.
“The players from each team are isolated on different stories in the hotel, and have our own restaurant and facilities separate from other teams. So safety measures are in place, and we are doing well in preparation, and looking forward to our first match here,” Wu said.
Taiwan’s possible starting lineup:
Goalkeeper: Pan Wen-chieh
Defenders: Chen Ting-yang, Chen Wei-chuan, Pai Shao-yu, Hsu Hao
Midfielders: Wu Chun-ching, Chen Chao-an, Emilio Estevez Tsai
Yoshitaka Komori
Forwards: Kao Wei-chieh, Lin Ming-wei, Chen Juei-chieh
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