BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Timor-Leste national youth football head coach Eduardo Pereira expressed his pride in leading his players to the ASEAN youth football tournament trophy with a 1-0 win over Cambodia in the final, local media the Borneo Bulletin reported on Monday.
"I feel really proud as a local head coach to take charge of the national under-21 team and lead them to glory in the tournament," said Eduardo in a post-match press conference.
According to Borneo Bulletin, the title is the team's first major achievement in the international arena since joining football competitions in Southeast Asia.
Eduardo had previously focused on stabilizing the defense and launching a counter-attack.
"Firstly, our plan was to focus on defense but I thought that even though we would have lost the final, we are already proud to get this far," he said.
Eduardo indicated that domestic league experience helped the national team in their progress in international competition four years after finishing bottom of their group in the last edition.
"In 2014, Timor-Leste did not have a national league. The league was only established in 2016. I have been with the players since 2016 and also as an under-19 team," added he.