Cambodia vs Brunei

Cambodia’s bid to progress into the AFF Championship knockouts for the first time in history faces a seemingly routine task as they take on Group A whipping boys Brunei at the Morodok Techo National Stadium.

Cambodia’s fourth consecutive AFF Championship group-stage participation may end prematurely as the last three unless they turn their fortunes around in round three. After an action-packed 3-2 win over the Philippines on matchday one, the ‘Angkor Warriors’ fell to a 2-1 defeat to Indonesia on day two and are now three points adrift of a coveted top-two Group A finish. With Indonesia playing Thailand in a mouth-watering top-table six-pointer, Cambodia could leapfrog the ‘Garuda Team’ into second if they live up to their pre-match favorite tag against Brunei. Since losing 3-2 in their first-ever H2H in the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, the Cambodians have won their subsequent four encounters against this opposition by an aggregate score of 13-1, netting 3+ goals on three occasions.

Meanwhile, Brunei’s hopes of making it out of the AFF Championship group stages for the first time in only their second appearance at the tournament are already gone. Following a thumping 5-1 loss to the Philippines in their curtain-raising Group A fixture, they rolled over against Indonesia last time out, succumbing to a dreadful 7-0 defeat to nail themselves to the bottom of the table. After losing four consecutive internationals in the lead-up to this clash by an aggregate score of 18-1, it’s no wonder the ‘Hornets’ have the odds staked against them. Since the turn of 2022, Mario Rivera’s men have lost seven of their nine matches in all competitions (W2), conceding at least three goals in six of those defeats, so there’s a good chance they could suffer another emphatic beating.