2 December

THE U-22 men’s national football teams of Myanmar and Cambodia  will  play  a  decisive  Group  A  match  in  the  men’s  football  competition  of  the  South  East  Asian Games today at the Binan Football  Stadium  in  Binan,  the  Philippines.

The match will start at 6:30 pm (Myanmar Standard Time), according  to  the  Myanmar  Football Federation. So far, Myanmar  has  played  three  of  the  four matches in Group A, winning two matches and conceding one draw.

Myanmar  played  to  a  1-1  draw against Malaysia on 25 No-vember, having defeated the Philippines  team  by  2-1.  The  team  also prevailed over Timor Leste by 3-1. Meanwhile, Cambodia is currently  placed  second  in  the  standing  table,  with  four  points  from  two  matches  played  (one  win and one draw). 

Cambodia has been stronger this  year  than  in  the  previous  edition  of  the  SEA  Games.  The team played to a 1-1 draw against  host  Philippines  in  a  tough  first  match  on  25  November. 

Next, the team trounced Timor  Leste  5-0  in  their  second  match  on  27  November.  Team Myanmar is now at the top of the standing table with 7 points, followed by Cambodia and the Philippines, who have each  garnered  4  points,  Malaysia has secured one point, and Timor Leste has netted no points.  If  the  match  between  Myanmar and Cambodia ends in  a  draw,  Myanmar  will  still  have enough points to proceed to the semifinal stage, according to football experts.

Cambodia also has potential for entering the semifinals, they said. Currently, in Group A,  Myanmar,  Cambodia,  and  the  Philippines  are  popular  contenders  for  a  spot  in  the  semifinals of the SEA Games, and today’s match promises to be  a  thrilling  one  for  fans.—Lynn Thit (Tgi)