We’re ready for Korea
JAKARTA – Indonesia captain Bambang Pamungkas is hoping an extra day’s rest will give his side an advantage over Korea Republic when they face off in their crucial Group D clash at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium this evening.
The Indonesians slipped to an injury-time defeat against Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening before seeing the Koreans lose to Bahrain on Sunday.
And with the heat taking its toll on teams across the group, the Persija Jakarta striker believes the additional 24 hours rest will help the home side.
“Everybody knows the match is important for both teams,” said the 27-year-old. “We have to win the game and Korea has to win the game as well so it will be very tough.
“We know the Koreans are one of the best teams in Asia. They have played at the World Cup many times but we have no fear of them. Against Saudi Arabia we played well. They won but it wasn’t easy and hopefully we can win this game.
“In the last game the Saudis were better than us. We had to run and run a lot to get the ball and we were exhausted in the last 20 minutes.
“Saudi had better possession than us but hopefully we have had three days rest and the Koreans have only had two so hopefully we can play at 100 percent like in the first game. I can guarantee that our team is ready.”
The Indonesians won their opening game against Bahrain, a result that means victory over Korea will be enough to take them through to the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time.
An injury-time winner from Saad Al Harthi saw them lose 2-1 to the Saudis in their second game but Bambang is convinced the team is capable of overcoming the psychological effects of that defeat.
“When you concede a goal in the last minute it’s very difficult but we had our team meeting after the game and we know that we still have a chance and will do our best,” he said.
“We are professionals and we still have a job to do. We are ready and the players are looking forward and ready to play.
“We learned many things when we played against Saudi and we have also watched both of Korea’s games. They don’t play with speed going forward, they play easy and the coach knows our strategy and hopefully it will work.
“In the last game we were exhausted in the last 15 minutes but hopefully we can keep going to the end in this game and it will be a good result for us.”
take from : afc
