AUDIO - Players ready to stake Japan claim
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Competition for places heats up ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup as Auckland City FC take on Hong Kong Rangers tonight.
Coach Ramon Tribulietx ran the rule over his squad after a light early morning training session and was confident the players were motivated to deliver a strong performance.
"Its an opportunity to give the players a feeling for the intensity of the game that is played in Asia.
"Hong Kong has a lot of Chinese players who play the game at a different speed and intensity.
"Its not as physical as it is in New Zealand but it is quicker and a bit more technical so that's our target.
"We need to understand that we have to play the game a little bit quicker and everything we do - our thinking, defending.
"The players will face quicker players and hopefully they can adjust to that," he said.
AUDIO - Ramon Tribulietx
Tribulietx's squad selection has been affected by injury with Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi and Yousif Al-Khalisy both ruled out.
But with injury to some opportunity knocks for others and Tribulietx said the Hong Kong Rangers and SC Sagamihara games allowed other players to state their case for a start in Yokohama on December 8.
"We're always open to who starts games. There are some players in the squad who are very likely to start the big games but you never know.
"Some players can be more effective when they play away than when they play in New Zealand and this is one of the elements we can figure out in these games.
"The target tonight is to experience a different style of football and that everyone gets at least some kind of game time," he said.
The match kicks off at 6pm local time/11pm NZST with live updates available at the club's official Twitter account @AucklandCity_FC or via the official club website www.aucklandcityfc.com
Ends
Match Details
Friendly Match
Tuesday 29 November, 2016
Hong Kong Rangers v Auckland City FC
Kitchee Sports Centre, Hong Kong
Kick-off: 6pm local time/11pm NZST
Live updates via Twitter
Auckland City FC: 1. Enaut Zubikarai (GK), 3. Takuya Iwata, 4. Mario Bilen, 5. Angel Berlanga (c), 6. Harshae Raniga, 7. Reid Drake, 8. Albert Riera, 9. Darren White, 10. Ryan De Vries, 11. Fabrizio Tavano, 12. Nicolai Berry, 13. Alfie Rogers, 14. Clayton Lewis, 15. Ivan Vicelich, 16. Dae Wook Kim, 17. Joao Moreira, 18. Danyon Drake (GK), 19. Micah Lea'alafa, 20. Emiliano Tade, 21. Harry Edge, 23. Marko Dordevic, 24. Jacob Spoonley (GK), 29. Sean Cooper.
Coach: Ramon Tribulietx
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Table
| Position | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | AC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 |  | WS | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| 3 |  | BU | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 |  | BO | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 5 |  | MN | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 |  | AU | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 |  | ES | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 |  | TC | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 3 |
| 9 |  | MU | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 3 |
| 10 |  | WR | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 2 |
| 11 |  | HW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
| 12 |  | EB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
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