PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s Under-23 football team have been beaten 4-0 by Japan in their Under-23 Asian Cup qualifier. The match was played on Tuesday morning at the J-Village Stadium in Hirono. It was a major come-down after last week’s surprise win over Hong Kong.

Cambodia went into Tuesday’s match on top of Group K, thanks to that 4-2 win over Hong Kong on Sunday. While they played with determination against their hosts, Cambodia were simply outclassed on Tuesday morning. Japan’s goals came at regular intervals throughout the match and they were 4-0 up by the time the final whistle was blown.

The win puts Japan on top of the group and into the finals in Uzbekistan next year, but Cambodia will still join them. As runner up in the group, they will still go through – but that’s assuming Hong Kong don’t beat Japan when they face each other on Thursday. It’s all down to the maths over the next few days – but if Japan do beat Hong Kong, then Cambodia are through to the finals of the Asian Football Confederation’s U-23 Asian Cup.