Cambodia secured a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Laos at the National Stadium in Vientiane in an international friendly on Wednesday.

The match served as a tune-up for the Kingdom’s final Group C clash against Afghanistan in the neutral venue of Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Tuesday in the third round of Asian Cup qualifying.

After having narrowly won the home game with Afghanistan at Olympic Stadium with a Prak Mony Udom goal, head coach Prak Sovannara’s men will now head for the return clash in with confidence after seasoned Boeung Ket striker Khoun Laboravy delivered the winning goal in the 85th minute.

His header came off a free-kick from winger Mony Udom, who plays for Malaysia Super League club Negeri Sembilan.

Even as the Cambodian senior side took the pitch against Laos, news trickled in from Brunei Darussalam that the country’s under-21 side had been drawn in the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy Pool B, in the company of Laos and Singapore.

Thailand, Timor Leste, Myanmar and hosts Brunei complete Pool A in the youth championship, which is named after the Sultan of Brunei and is scheduled to be played from April 23 to May 7.

Before leaving for the Laos friendly and the Afghanistan clash, head coach Sovannara had made it clear that his focus would be on the Brunei tournament so that he could give some talented youngsters waiting in the wings a chance to perform on a bigger stage.