Indonesia and Iraq vow to fight it out in soccer match

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia looks certain to field a team of mostly substitutes in its Independence Cup soccer group match against Iraq on Friday, reducing the encounter to a warm-up for this weekend's final.

Whatever the outcome is, Indonesia and Iraq will meet again for the trophy and US$40,000 cash prize at the Senayan Stadium on Sunday.

Host Indonesia, seeking an international title that has eluded it over the past decade, has everything to prove -- its national team is bound for the 2000 Asian Cup finals in Lebanon in October.

But Indonesia coach Nandar Iskandar said his team would be aiming at testing Iraq's strength on Friday.

"Iraq is a superior team but it will not matter on our path to victory. We will observe their playing skills in our first encounter on Friday. The most important thing for us is to win the final match," he told a media briefing on Thursday.

He defended his decision to rely mostly on substitutes for Friday's match, saying he wanted all players to taste the pressures of playing at international level.

"Although I will field substitutes, it doesn't mean that the game will lack quality. We don't want to disappoint our public," he said.

Nandar said his men possessed better individual skills than Iraq, but admitted that their team work remained untested.

Iraq is in the process of restoring its international reputation after a decade of international isolation. Its team comprises mostly junior players who will represent their country in the Asian Under-19 Championships.

"These junior players are also being groomed for the 2002 World Cup. We have chosen them for this match and they represent the future of our national soccer team," Iraq's team manager Waleed Tabra said.

Tabra asserted his team would fight it out to win the remaining two matches against Indonesia.

"Our main target is to prepare them for the World Cup qualifying rounds. A win will boost the morale of our players," he said.

He said that coach Barja Maric might field the team's best players on Friday.

Maric said after defeating Myanmar 1-0 on Wednesday he had benched five or six key players to save their energy for Friday's and Sunday's battles.

Blessed with tall, quick players, Iraq is expected to match Indonesia.

Myanmar play Chinese Taipei on Friday.

Myanmar coach David Booth of England was a little disappointed of his team's performances here.

But he said the team's main target was to win the 2000 Tiger Cup in November and the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

He said the same team would compete in the Tiger Cup in Thailand, while only some of them who would stay on until the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur.

"Next we want to win the SEA Games gold medal. If we don't win we will waste much time. We have to believe that if we go to the SEA Games we are well-prepared," he said. (ivy)