what laos coach says

“It was a big surprise because for us to go through, Timor Leste had to lose and Brunei did not have much to play for because they had already been eliminated,” said team manager Kei Homma.

“But Brunei played very well and when they took a 1-0 lead, our players started to cheer for them.

“We ended up watching the whole game and it was very nervous for us right at the end when Brunei were leading 2-1 and Timor Leste hit the post.

“At the end, we were very happy with the result and now we can think about how we will prepare to play in the next round.”

Laos have six weeks before they begin their Group B campaign against Indonesia on November 25 and Kimura is planning to give his players at least a week off before they begin preparations for the Final Round.

“We have been focussed on our games in the Qualification Round but now we need to prepare the team for the Final Round so we will go back and get more information about our opponents and analyse their games,” Homma added.

“But we are pleased with how the team has done here. At first, we did not play so well in our opening game against Cambodia but as the team has played more, our condition has improved and in our final game against Myanmar, we were strong and our performance was good even if we didn’t win.”

source affsuzuki cup official website