Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
BRUNEI have their sights on the group stage of the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup.
The Sultanate have only made one appearance in the main competition back in 1996.
With changes to the qualifying system, they are now only required to overcome Timor Leste in a two-legged playoff this year.
The away leg will be held at the Cheras Stadium in Malaysia on Saturday after the Dili Stadium was deemed not suitable by officials.
Brunei will then host the second leg on Sept 8 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
The winner will advance into Group B with defending champions Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Kwon Oh-son is heading the national team and he hopes that they will be able to progress to the tournament proper.
“We haven’t competed in the group stage since 1996. Making it into the group stage is something we want to achieve and will be good for Brunei,” said Kwon in an interview with BruSports News earlier today.
“Winning with the national team on home ground will be something memorable for the Brunei fans. Hopefully that is something we can achieve for them too.
“The team is united - the players and coaching staff. It will be down to the performance we produce during the match and hopefully we can get a positive result,” he added.
“The coaching staff will push the players as much as they can. This is a national duty for us to make the Brunei people happy and we want them to remember it.
“Hopefully we will be able to show that Brunei can play some good football and not to be messed about,” continued the 59-year-old, who last led Brunei at the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers in 2012.
When asked about preparations, Kwon replied: “For now we are nearly done and just doing body conditioning of the players.
“We are also polishing up on organisation and set-pieces before we go. Hopefully we are more sharp going into the game,” he added.
DPMM FC players link up with national team
Players from Brunei’s only professional club - 13 of them - only joined the rest of the squad on Saturday after their 2-2 draw against Warriors FC in the Singapore Cup on Thursday.
Despite the late link up, Kwon assures that they have no problems settling down.
“For now there are no problems. Technically they are the best players in Brunei,” said Kwon.
“Most of them are experienced players and know what to do when the head coach tells them what to do.
“As for the other players, they have been consistently training for the past two months,” added the South Korean.
“It is matter how we polish them playing together before going to the qualifiers.
“At the end we just want to win both matches away and home against Timor Leste,” continued Kwon.
Homework on Timor Leste all done
Brunei have a good record against their opponents winning five and only losing one in all six meetings.
Their last meeting saw Brunei win 4-0 in the Asian Solidarity Cup on Nov 2, 2016.
The coaching staff has gone through all the matches and Kwon knows what to expect.
“Attacking wise, Henrique Cruz and Rufino Gama are very sharp. Midfielders like the No 12 and Nataniel Reis are also very good. They have good control and pass the ball well through midfield,” said Kwon.
“The side midfielders can create space and have pace as well while the fullbacks are considered more physical defenders. But for defence, heading and clearing they consistently make mistakes.
“Overall, we know most of the team as the players have played in the HBT (Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy) and more recently Asian Games,” he added.
“We have analysed all their matches from before. They play 4-4-2 with a variation of 3-4-3 and 3-3-4 when attacking.
“Hopefully we will be able to counter the different formations and systems,” concluded the national coach.
