Phnom Penh: The Cambodian National Team has jetted off to Bahrain for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup play-offs. The team will play Guam twice in the next week for the right to advance to the third round of the qualifiers.

The play-offs are a two-leg affair (one home and one away match) based on the original format, but due to travel challenges posed by the pandemic, the AFC decided to hold both matches at a centralised venue and both Cambodia and Guam agreed on Bahrain.

The first leg match is scheduled for Saturday night, with the following leg to be played next Tuesday. The Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Bahrain’s Isa Town will host both matches.

The winner will advance to the third round of the qualifiers and the Angkor Warriors are favoured to win both matches. If they do, they’ll join 10 other teams from the third round who will join the 13 countries that have already qualified for the finals: China, Syria, Iran, Qatar, Japan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Iraq, Vietnam, Lebanon, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

China will host the 2023 Asian Cup Finals from 16 June to 16 July 2023. The tournament is staged every four years.