KATHMANDU, Aug 22: National League champion Ruslan Three Star Club, which is just a step away from making it to the qualifying rounds of AFC Cup Play-off qualifiers, will take on Cambodian outfit Nagaworld FC in its second group match on Tuesday. The match against Cambodian league runner-up will be held at Mongolian Football Federation (MFF) ground in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
Three Star is the favorite to make it to the next round among the three teams following a 2-0 victory over home team Erchim FC Mongolia in the tournament opener on Monday. A victory over Nagaworld will secured Three Star's entry into the next round while a draw or defeat will leave door wide open for other teams as well.
Overwhelmed by the winning start, Three Star Captain Bikram Lama, who scored the second goal against Erchim on Monday, said that they aren't taking the match against Nagaworld lightly. “We are taking this match seriously as we don't want to make mistake by taking our opponent lightly,” Bikram said.
“We can confirm our entry into the next round with a win so we will play with the same spirit we came up in the opening match,” he added.
Three Star head coach Megh Raj KC said that he will use the same tactics against Nagaworld as the one he used in the last match against Erchim.
Three Star had analyzed Erchim's play in the first 10 minutes before forming its plans for remaining period of the match in which KC's side outplayed the Mongolian champion.
“This time as well, we will watch our opponent's play for the initial 10 minutes before forming our tactics. Nagaworld is a new opponent for us so we need to watch them carefully in the initial period to find out their weaknesses and strengths,” said KC.
Nagaworld head coach Meas Chann said that they arrived in Mongolia with full preparation and were ready for the match. “We have prepared well, so I expect my players to perform well,” said Chann.
However, Nagaworld captain Sok Rithy said that the weather in Mongolia was not favorable to them. “It is very cold than in our country, but still we will try to play with full confidence,” said Rithy.
Nine teams have been divided in to three groups in the AFC Cup play-off qualifiers and the group winner from each group will progress to the next round.
Three Star Club shares point with Nagaworld FC (with video)
