RI to clash with giants in Asian Nations Cup
RI to clash with giants in Asian Nations Cup
JAKARTA (Agencies): Indonesia, still smarting from its
disappointing performance in the Tiger Cup over the weekend, was
given another headache as it was drawn to play the continent's
soccer giants in the Asian Nations Cup in Dubai this December.
The draw, conducted on Monday, places Danurwindo's side in the
very competitive Group A, which features host United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait and regular World Cup finalist South Korea in
the round-robin matches to be played in the capital city of Abu
Dhabi.
The biennial Asian Nations Cup, organized by the 44-member
Asian Football Confederation and being contested by the region's
top 12 nations, runs from Dec. 4 to Dec. 21.
The top two teams in each group qualify for the quarterfinals
along with the two best third-placed sides.
The Indonesians, who are likely to retain the services of the
players who trained in Italy a couple years ago, kick off their
campaign against Kuwait on Dec. 4.
Indonesia, one of Asia's strongest teams two decades ago,
continued its long title drought by finishing only fourth in the
inaugural ASEAN Tiger Cup in Singapore after crashing 2-3 to
Vietnam in the third-place play-off. The Indonesians had earlier
pledged to reach the final.
Tiger Cup champion, Thailand, was drawn to meet World Cup
finalist Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq in Group B staged in UAE's
biggest city, Dubai.
Asian champion Japan drew a relatively easy group with China,
Uzbekistan and Syria for its round-robin matches at Al Ain.
As usual in Asian football, the tournament promises any number
of interesting political combinations especially in Group B which
includes Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq that have been at war with
each other at various times in the last ten years.
Should Iraq and Group A side Kuwait qualify, there is a strong
probability both sides could meet as early as the quarterfinals
in what would be a keenly-contested tie.
Draw
Group A (Abu Dhabi): United Arab Emirates; Indonesia; Kuwait;
South Korea
Group B (Dubai): Saudi Arabia; Iran; Iraq; Thailand
Group C (Al-Ain): Japan; China; Uzbekistan; Syria