Adi Said (R) challenged by
Myanmar's Aung Myint Aye
during their 2011 SEA Games
Group B match in Jakarta.
Picture: BT file
The national Under-23 team are looking to arrange more international friendlies in their buildup for December's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Napyidaw, Myanmar.
The team lost 1-0 to the Indonesia Under-23 team in their first international friendly match at Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Friday, with Andi Inbo scoring the only goal for the 2011 SEA Games runners-up five minutes into the second-half at the Maguwoharjo Stadium.
The national team will compete at the Borneo Games in Sabah next month and the Inter-City Football tournament in Sarawak in October, but their manager is hoping to secure more friendlies against national sides over the coming months.
"We are working to get more international friendly games for the players, maybe in Qatar and Oman," Hj Feisal Hj Eusoff told The Brunei Times.
"We need to spar against stronger opposition, and we are also thinking of organising a friendly against Thailand if possible.
"This will be a very good opportunity for the players... And will help them to get used to competitive and tough match environments.
"I am hoping that it (friendly games) can materialise as it will benefit us," he added.
The team's coach Kwon Oh-son also believes that playing more international friendly matches will help boost the team's spirit and confidence.
"I think the players' confidence has increased after the Indonesia game and I hope that we will be able to play in a number of friendly games before the SEA Games starts," said the South Korean in the previous report in The Brunei Times.
The team has been reinforced by three DPMM FC players, striker Adi Said, midfielder Azwan Ali Rahman and goalkeeper Muhd Fakhrul Zulhazmi Yussof, who have been released last week to train for the SEA Games.
Most of the players in this year's squad are from the national Under-21 team that won the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (HBT) last year under the guidance of Kwon.
Brunei failed to progress past the group stage at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia, where they played out to one win, one draw and three losses with Dayem Hj Ali in charge of the team in Jakarta.
Making its return to the Under-23 competition after 10 years, Brunei started their campaign with a 2-1 loss to Timor Leste before drawing 2-2 with Laos.
They then fell 4-0 to Myanmar and 8-0 to Vietnam before coming back strongly with a 2-1 win over the Philippines.
Prior to leaving for Yogyakarta, the national team played a friendly game to DPMM FC last Monday a 2-1 defeat at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
DPMM FC's Brazilian defender Tales Ricarte dos Santos and Lithuanian striker Arturas Rimkevicius scored a goal each while Adi hit the mark for the nationals.
