Hong Kong’s World Cup run ends with loss to Bahrain

Hong Kong’s football team completed their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-0 loss to Bahrain. All the goals were conceded in the second half.

The match took place in Bahrain where Hong Kong played their final three World Cup qualifiers following a 17-month layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The SAR finished fourth in Group C with one win and five points from eight games.

Hong Kong will have to go through a playoff to reach the third round of qualifying for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Coach Mixu Paatelainen remained positive about his team despite the lack of a strong finish.

“We’re disappointed but we’ll go from here,” Paatelainen said. “This is a learning process and sometimes there’s a dip.”

Iran won Group C after beating Iraq 1-0. Both teams move on to the third round of World Cup qualifying.

China beat Syria 3-1. Both sides progressed from Group A.