Naturalized star confident to help Cambodia team reach level with Thailand and Vietnam

"This team has great potential and I believe Cambodia will soon become one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia ," the Khmer Times quoted Abdel Kade Coulibaly, a striker for the Cambodian team. The player born in 1993 - originally from Ivory Coast - has just become a naturalized citizen to play for the Cambodian team at the 2024 AFF Cup (ASEAN Cup).

According to the latest FIFA rankings, Cambodia is ranked 180th in the world . The two highest-ranked teams in Southeast Asia are Thailand (97) and Vietnam (114). After the 2024 AFF Cup, the Cambodian team will not gain any points.

Coulibaly scored two goals in the group stage against strong opponents Malaysia and Thailand. However, the 31-year-old striker's contribution was not enough to help the team nicknamed "Angkor Warriors" get through the group stage. Cambodia played with determination and caused many difficulties for strong teams but only won 4 points after 4 matches (won 1 match, drew 1 match and suffered 2 defeats).

Speaking about his goal against Thailand, Coulibaly said: " This is a special moment that I cannot describe in words. Scoring for Cambodia against Thailand is magical. I am happy to play for Cambodia.

For a striker, scoring a goal is always great, but it is also the team's performance that helped me score. I am a little sad that Cambodia were eliminated, but I am still very proud. I want to score more goals for Cambodia and win the cup."

Coulibaly scored but Cambodia was still eliminated.

Coulibaly was the first player to score for Cambodia at the AFF Cup 2024, bringing a 2-2 draw against Malaysia. After that, he and his teammates played well against Singapore - the team that had just lost 0-2 to Vietnam in the first leg of the semi-final - but still lost due to 2 mistakes by the goalkeeper.

After beating Timor Leste, Cambodia needed three more points against Thailand to qualify for the next round. The Angkor Warriors were leading the Golden Temple team despite playing away from home. However, they still lost 2-3. Coulibaly scored the final goal to reduce the score.