A file photo of Adi Said scoring final goal for Brunei against Indonesia in the final of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy for ASEAN Youth Football Tournament 2012, March 9, 2012. Brunei won 2-0. BT/Rudolf Portillo
The national under-23 team will be leaving the country for Thailand on Monday as they step up their preparation for next month's 27th edition of Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The Myanmar-bound team are expected to be involved in a number of friendly matches against the local football clubs in Bangkok during their stay until December 2.
With the tournament only a few weeks away, the team must be very careful not to risk injuring their important players in the friendlies.
"We will be going to Bangkok on Monday for some friendly matches, and we. all the players will do our very best for the country," Striker Adi Said told The Brunei Times yesterday.
Meanwhile, manager Hj Feisal Hj Eusoff and coach Kwon Oh-son were unavailable for comments yesterday.
The Sultanate has been drawn with two-time defending champions Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Laos in Group A in the December 1-22 tournament, while hosts Myanmar will join Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Timor Leste in Group B.
They will open their campaign against Vietnam on Dec 8 at the Zeyar Thiri Stadium in Naypyidaw before facing Malaysia two days later. They will then meet Singapore and Laos on Dec 13 and Dec 17 respectively.
Brunei failed to progress past the group stage in the previous edition of SEA Games in Indonesia in 2011 after recording one win, one draw and three losses.
The country 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 beating the Philippines 2-1 in their final match.
Adi and midfielder Azwan Ali Rahman helped the team to come from behind to beat Cebagoo FC 3-2 in their recent friendly match at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Monday.
The national team found themselves 2-0 down in the 58th minute when Jufery Omopor scored Cebagoo's second of the night following Montoku Lemon's opener in the 19th minute.
But the national side would respond with a goal from striker Adi before midfielder Azwan found the net twice, as the duo outlined their importance to the team with the timely strikes.
It was the team's second win in Kota Kinabalu after defeating Sabah Juniors 1-0 in their first match of the two-game friendly series on Saturday.
Mohammad Iqmal Hakeem Abdul Hameed got his name onto the scoresheet with the only goal in the victory.
