Laos launch youth rebuild under cloud of controversy ahead of Hong Kong clash

Laos begin the Fifa Asean Cup with a difficult recent campaign behind them and serious questions surrounding the team. Their Sunday meeting with Hong Kong at Kai Tak Stadium will be the sides’ opening match in the tournament, and head coach Vladica Grujic is now guiding a younger group after substantial changes to the squad.

The changes followed a sequence of painful results at the Asean Championship. In response, the Laos Football Federation requested an inquiry into claims that players may have been involved in manipulating matches, accepting bribes and participating in unlawful gambling. The investigation was called for after a string of heavy losses, though no findings or details about those accused are provided.

Laos were beaten 5-0 by Thailand, 4-0 by Malaysia, 4-1 by the Philippines and 7-2 by Myanmar. The defeats contrasted with their record at the previous Asean Championship, held two years earlier, when they drew twice, went down 3-2 to Myanmar and lost 4-1 to Vietnam. Vietnam later won that competition.

The latest campaign also featured a number of costly incidents on the field. Viengxay Sydavon put the ball into his own net twice. Phetdavanh Somsanith was dismissed with a straight red card on two occasions, while Sayfon Keohanam also received a red. These episodes accompanied the team’s poor results and intensified attention on its performances.

Goalkeeper Keo Souvannasangsgo was separately criticized by social-media users after the Malaysia defeat. In a moment when a shot was heading towards goal, he appeared to move his hands out of its path, prompting online questions about his response. The account does not report any official conclusion about that incident or connect it to the allegations under investigation.

Grujic has declined to explain directly why he wanted to stay in charge after the fallout from the championship. He is nevertheless leading the revamped, youthful side into the next competition, with the Hong Kong fixture providing its first opportunity to respond on the pitch. The available information does not specify which players were replaced or give a timetable for the federation inquiry.

For Hong Kong, the match at Kai Tak Stadium is an opening test against an opponent whose recent form has been poor but whose squad has been reshaped. For Laos, it comes at a moment when the team is trying to establish a new direction while the investigation and the events of the Asean Championship remain unresolved. No further details are given about the allegations, the people they concern or the inquiry’s outcome.