Indonesia ready for Asian Cup showdown<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Jinan, China<\/p>\n
Indonesia has dusted itself off after its 5-0 mauling by China
\nand says it is ready to face Bahrain as the two countries battle
\nfor their first ever Asian Cup quarterfinal spot.<\/p>\n
But the Indonesians, needing only a draw to progress, admit
\ntheir task will not be easy on Sunday against a Bahrain side
\nranked 45 places above them.<\/p>\n
\"It's going to be tough,\" said team manager Andi Darussalam
\nTabusalla.<\/p>\n
\"We have a good chance to beat Bahrain but we realize they are
\none of the most improved of the Gulf countries.\"<\/p>\n
He said the team had learned from its mistakes against China,
\nwhen the team leaked goals after Alexander Pulalo's red card
\nafter 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
\"It was unfortunate that we gave away so many goals. It was a
\nbig disappointment,\" he said. \"Against China we just couldn't do
\nanything because China are much faster and fitter.<\/p>\n
\"But we will play a lot better than when we played against
\nChina and we will try our best to beat Bahrain. God willing, we
\nwill get to the quarter-final.\"<\/p>\n
Bahrain, which has soared up the FIFA rankings under coach
\nSrecko Juricic, is unbeaten in the tournament after scrambling
\nlate draws against both China and Qatar.<\/p>\n
But they will have to go one better if they are to build on
\ntheir growing reputation by booking a quarterfinal berth.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, the pressure is on us because Indonesia have already won
\na match and a draw would be good for them,\" Juricic said this
\nweek.<\/p>\n
\"We have yet to lose and I think we are a stronger team than
\nIndonesia. Still, this is football and no-one should be under-
\nestimating any team.<\/p>\n
\"But I think we are strong enough to pass this test and
\nadvance to the next round.\"<\/p>\n
China, which tops Group A on four points, will face bottom-
\nranked Qatar in Sunday's other match played simultaneously in
\nBeijing.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the desert kingdom of Jordan, more known for its
\nancient Biblical past than its soccer team, is on the verge of a
\nminor miracle at the tournament with a quarterfinal spot
\nbeckoning.<\/p>\n
The amateur side, making its Asian Cup debut here, stunned
\nKuwait with two injury-time goals on Friday -- despite having
\ncaptain Faisal Ibrahim sent off early in the second half -- to go
\njoint top of Group B with one game remaining.<\/p>\n
The Jordanians had already stifled South Korea's talented
\nattacking line-up to grind out a 0-0 draw against one of the
\ntournament favorites.<\/p>\n
Coach Mahmoud Al-Gohary has acknowledged comparisons with
\nGreece, shock winner of the Euro 2004 title courtesy of a
\nruthless counter-attacking game.<\/p>\n
But the Egyptian legend, hailed as the \"best coach in Arab
\nfootball\" by his Kuwaiti opposite number, admitted that even he
\nwas taken aback by Friday's late show.<\/p>\n
\"Quite honestly, the two dramatic goals were really a big
\nsurprise to me and a surprise to everyone,\" Al-Gohary said.<\/p>\n
Al-Gohary, the first man to win the African Cup of Nations
\nboth as a player and a coach, has masterminded an unprecedented
\nrun of success which also sees Jordan well-placed in World Cup
\nqualifiers.<\/p>\n
Al-Gohary's team has climbed up the FIFA rankings to 40th, the
\nfifth-highest Asian team, a remarkable feat considering the team
\nis drawn entirely from the country's tiny, 10-team amateur
\nleague.<\/p>",
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