Jakarta - Indonesia`s senior soccer team is widely expected to win its upcoming match with Bahrain at the Bung Karno main stadium on Tuesday (Sept.6) evening to compensate its loss against Iran.
Indonesian striker Christian Gonzales and other members of the Indonesian team would have the psychological advantage of facing Bahrain on their own turf where they are assured of the moral support of tens of thousands of domestic soccer fans.
Indonesia lost 0-3 (0-0) to Iran in the third round of the Pre-World Cup 2011 round in group E at Tehran`s Azadi Stadium early on Saturday (Sept.2). Bahrain at the time played Qatar and their match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Indonesia`s senior team that had returned in Jakarta from Tehran, Iran, on Sunday (Sept.4) night is expected to show its best performance on Tuesday against the Bahrainis who arrived in Jakarta on Saturday (Sept.3) or earlier than the Indonesian team.
The Indonesian team will play against Bahrain`s eleven in the second leg of the Pre-World Cup 2014 round in Group E.
In a tossup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, recently, the Indonesian soccer team was put in Group E along with Iran, Qatar and Bahrain.
Bahrain and Qatar meanwhile played to a 0-0 draw at Bahrain`s Manama National Stadium on Friday evening local time or early on Saturday Western Indonesia Time.
At Tuesday night`s event the referee who will lead the game, Min Hu Lee from South Korea, will be seconded by two assistants, namely Choi Min Byuong and Young Ha Kim with Jo Hyung Jin, also from South Korea, as reserve referee.
In the Group E standings, Iran for the time being is leading with three points after beating Indonesia 3-0 in the first leg. In second place is Bahrain (1), followed by Qatar (1) and Indonesia (0).
The Indonesian team`s coach, Wim Rijsbergen, said he hoped his charges can forget their defeat from Iran and instead focus on their encounter with Bahrain on Tuesday night.
Speaking to the press here on Monday (Sept.5), Wim said that the team`s target in the home-match is to achieve full points.
"We have to forget the defeat from Iran and raise our spirit in the face of Bahrain. Raising the players` morale for the upcoming match is very important ," Wim said.
Wim expressed optimism that the Indonesian players would be in top condition when entering the field of Tuesday`s match.
He also hoped the Indonesian team would win the game and thereby lift the country`s name in the international arena and also raise its position in FIFA`s ranking.
In addition to strengthening its rear guard, Wim said, he would instruct the Indonesian team to maintain an aggressive tempo.
Wim also said remaining in an attacking position was the right formula to ward off the opponent`s attacks. Players from Middle Eastern countries were adept at capitalizing on dead balls as shown by the Iranian team when they defeated Firman Utina and his friends.
"In addition, we have asked our players to avoid violating the rules in the defense area because the consequences will be quite harmful" said Wim who comes from Holland.
In the meantime, the captain of Indonesia`s team, Bambang Pamungkas, said his team was ready to perform to the best of its capabilities in the match against Bahrain although its members were now not in their best physical condition after playing Iran in the the first match.
"Although the present situation is not favorable because the Bahrain team arrived earlier in Jakarta than the Indonesian team, we will show our maximum performance," Pamungkas said.
In Tuesday`s match, two Indonesian team members, namely
Zulkifli Syukur and M Ilham, would be absent as they were given several yellow cards in the match against Iran.
However, Boaz Salossa, Ahmad Bustomi and Ricardo Salampessy who were not in the Indonesian team in Tehran on September 2, 2011, would also be fielded in the match with Bahrain.
Both (Boaz Salossa and Bustomi) have very vital role for the national team because Bustomi is able to balance the team in the middle and Boaz has a high skill to break down the opponent`s defense, Wim said.
In addition, back player Muhammad Nasuha who was absent in Teheran due to a yellow card accumulation, was also ready to be fielded against Bahrain.
The national team coach Wim said that his team was committed to grab the full points on the Tuesday home-match.
Meanwhile, one of Indonesian soccer fans in Jakarta Indra Ifani (Ifan- 188 cm high) when speaking to Antara here on Monday expressed optimism that the country`s team can beat Bahrain 3-0.
Ifan, one of Budi Sudarsono`s friends (Budi the country`s wellknown soccer player) also hoped Gonzales and his friends can achieve full points on the Tuesday night match. (*)