RI preps for Sri Lanka in India warmup

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta

Indonesia will face India at the Bung Karno stadium here on Thursday in a warmup match ahead of its prequalifying match for the 2006 World Cup against Sri Lanka on June 9.

Indonesia, coached by Bulgarian Ivan Venko Kolev, lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0 and Turkmenistan 3-0 to stay at the bottom in Group 8 below Sri Lanka, which was also winless in its two previous matches but had a better goal margin.

Before taking on the national team, the Indian team, which will arrive with about 30 traveling members, is scheduled to play Indonesia's U-20 team on Monday.

U-20 is being coached by Peter Withe for the Asian Championship in Malaysia in September.

India is in Group 3 with Japan, Oman and Singapore. While Indonesia takes on Sri Lanka, India faces Japan in Tokyo.

Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) secretary-general Nugraha Besoes said that India had been chosen as a sparring partner because of its playing characteristics, which are similar to Sri Lanka's.

"India and Sri Lanka almost have the same type of play. This will be a good chance for us to adapt to the way they (Sri Lanka) might play. We expect to gain better ground against Sri Lanka," Nugraha announced at the PSSI headquarters here on Thursday.

While looking for a game plot against Sri Lanka through the latter's neighbor, the Indonesian team, according to Nugraha, is still trying to obtain knowledge about Sri Lankan's game via videotape.

Nugraha said he had asked the Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia for assistance in obtaining a tape of Sri Lanka's game against the Saudis.

"We have contacted our embassy in Saudi Arabia to get the tape. We must get it immediately because the game will be held soon," Nugraha said.

Meanwhile, U-20 coach Peter Withe said India would cruise through to victory.

"I think India will win easily against our team, but we will also try our best to win," Withe of England said.

He added that the game would be a good opportunity for the young players, given that they had never played against a strong team.

"Most of our players have improved, though some don't progress as quickly as the others. They have good skills. It's just that they don't have good stamina and enough fighting spirit," the former Thailand coach said.

Withe said that he had appointed Bobby Satrio as team captain, considering that the midfielder had great determination and was knowledgeable about the game.

Withe also announced that Putra Habibie and Mohamad Yasser had been expelled from the team two days ago due to lack of discipline.

"Right now we have 28 players on the team. We're always looking for new players as it should not be difficult to find good players from a country with a population of 200 million," he said.