Indonesia ready for Asian Cup showdown

Indonesia ready for Asian Cup showdown

Agence France-Presse, Jinan, China

Indonesia has dusted itself off after its 5-0 mauling by China
and says it is ready to face Bahrain as the two countries battle
for their first ever Asian Cup quarterfinal spot.

But the Indonesians, needing only a draw to progress, admit
their task will not be easy on Sunday against a Bahrain side
ranked 45 places above them.

"It's going to be tough," said team manager Andi Darussalam
Tabusalla.

"We have a good chance to beat Bahrain but we realize they are
one of the most improved of the Gulf countries."

He said the team had learned from its mistakes against China,
when the team leaked goals after Alexander Pulalo's red card
after 30 minutes.

"It was unfortunate that we gave away so many goals. It was a
big disappointment," he said. "Against China we just couldn't do
anything because China are much faster and fitter.

"But we will play a lot better than when we played against
China and we will try our best to beat Bahrain. God willing, we
will get to the quarter-final."

Bahrain, which has soared up the FIFA rankings under coach
Srecko Juricic, is unbeaten in the tournament after scrambling
late draws against both China and Qatar.

But they will have to go one better if they are to build on
their growing reputation by booking a quarterfinal berth.

"Yes, the pressure is on us because Indonesia have already won
a match and a draw would be good for them," Juricic said this
week.

"We have yet to lose and I think we are a stronger team than
Indonesia. Still, this is football and no-one should be under-
estimating any team.

"But I think we are strong enough to pass this test and
advance to the next round."

China, which tops Group A on four points, will face bottom-
ranked Qatar in Sunday's other match played simultaneously in
Beijing.

Meanwhile, the desert kingdom of Jordan, more known for its
ancient Biblical past than its soccer team, is on the verge of a
minor miracle at the tournament with a quarterfinal spot
beckoning.

The amateur side, making its Asian Cup debut here, stunned
Kuwait with two injury-time goals on Friday -- despite having
captain Faisal Ibrahim sent off early in the second half -- to go
joint top of Group B with one game remaining.

The Jordanians had already stifled South Korea's talented
attacking line-up to grind out a 0-0 draw against one of the
tournament favorites.

Coach Mahmoud Al-Gohary has acknowledged comparisons with
Greece, shock winner of the Euro 2004 title courtesy of a
ruthless counter-attacking game.

But the Egyptian legend, hailed as the "best coach in Arab
football" by his Kuwaiti opposite number, admitted that even he
was taken aback by Friday's late show.

"Quite honestly, the two dramatic goals were really a big
surprise to me and a surprise to everyone," Al-Gohary said.

Al-Gohary, the first man to win the African Cup of Nations
both as a player and a coach, has masterminded an unprecedented
run of success which also sees Jordan well-placed in World Cup
qualifiers.

Al-Gohary's team has climbed up the FIFA rankings to 40th, the
fifth-highest Asian team, a remarkable feat considering the team
is drawn entirely from the country's tiny, 10-team amateur
league.