Phnom Penh: Prime Minister Hun Sen has congratulated the national football team on their victory over Guam in the second round of their AFC play-off in Bahrain. As promised, he’s awarded them $100,000 for making it through to the next round of the championships. He’s also commended team manager, Keisuke Honda, for leading the team so successfully.

Kick-off was at 11pm on Tuesday night and Cambodian fans who stayed up late to watch weren’t disappointed, but they had a tense first half to get through, with Guam going 1-nil up in the 36th minute. It wasn’t until after half-time that the late night proved worth it. In fact, just four minutes into the second half, Sos Suhana found the back of the net after a pass from Keo Sok Pheng. He bagged the warriors’ second goal – and the win – in the 55th minute. Cambodia then knuckled down to see out the match 2-1.

Having won the first leg of the playoff 1-nil, Cambodia advance to the third round of the Asian Championships with an aggregrate score of 3-1 over Guam. The kingdom joins 23 other teams in the third round, which will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. This third round will kick-off in February and run through to the end of September. The finals will be held in China in 2023.