RI aiming to draw against Iran in pre-World Cup qualifying round

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng said that the Indonesian national soccer team will fight to contain host team Iran during this Friday’s match in Tehran in order to further advance their prospects for the pre-World Cup 2014 qualifying round.

“We hope to gain [at least] one point from the match,” Andi said on Wednesday, as reported by tribunnews.com.

A draw, Andi said, was enough to allow Indonesia to put its best foot forward in the competition against its next opponent, Bahrain. The Indonesian team will play Bahrain before the home crowd at Bung Karno Soccer Stadium in Jakarta on Sep. 6.

Andi said the red-and-white team expects to beat Bahrain, partially because of support from their fans.

“We will win the Sep. 6 match against Bahrain,” Andi said.

Indonesia lost to Qatar 0-1 in a try-out match on Sunday.

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