Friendly defeat

Action from the Cambodia v Vietnam U23 game with Keo Sokngorn (10) involved

The first result to come out of the Cambodian national team's training camp inside Vietnam is a 2-0 defeat against the Vietnamese Under 23 side, earlier today at the Thanh Long stadium. The national team coach Lee Tae-Hoon has moved his team to Saigon from their original camp at HAGL in order to play some matches, as part of their preparation for the forthcoming Suzuki Cup qualifying games in Laos. The Vietnamese U23 side, who were beaten by Malaysia in the SEA Games final at the end of last year, are also preparing for a cup competition, the Thanh Long-Hanoi Cup which will involve U23 teams from Iran, Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, North Korea and Australia. The Vietnamese U23 coach is Phan Thanh Hung, who just led Hanoi T&T to the 2010 V-League championship. The Vietnamese goals in today's win were scored by Van Thang and skipper Huu Phuoc. Another friendly match between the two sides is scheduled for the Thong Nhat stadium on 21 September.
The Vietnam press (Thanh Nien News online) have spotlighted Cambodia's talented youngster Keo Sokngorn as having a Vietnamese mother and interest shown in him by two Vietnamese clubs, Binh Duong and Can Tho, while Thai clubs are reportedly sniffing around too. Currently on contract with C-League champions Phnom Penh Crown, I would be very surprised if this isn't anything more than newspaper gossip.

Cambodia in red on the defensive against a rampaging Vietnam U23 team