Another foreign team Indonesia also needed to be wary of is South Korea, assistant coach for the U-23 national team, Aji Santoso, said when asked to comment on the Indonesian team`s prospects in the third round after beating Turkmenistan 4-3 in Jakarta on Thursday.
"According to me, the two countries are still the best at Asian levels and we must admit that in terms of quality we are inferior to them. However if we have strong motivation we may possibly be able to overpower them like when we beat Turkmenistan," he said.
Aji said appreciation must be given to the national team that could proceed to the third round.
"We must admit Indonesia`s preparations are minimum namely only three days after the country elected the new chairman of its football association PSSI while Turkmenistan has long prepared for it and was eager to achieve a maximum result," he said.
Aji said what the Indonesian team players had to improve was their stamina.
"In terms of playing we have been very good. But stamina remains the obstacle for our players to be able to play two times 45 minutes.
So it needs to be improved to meet the third round match," he said.
In the third round Indonesia will meet strong teams from Asia such as from Japan, Australia, South Korea, Iran and China.
Aji said he was optimistic if the Indonesian players had strong motivation plus good preparations they could overcome them.
"What is important now is strong motivation as it would not be easy to play in the third round. Our preparations must also be maximal," he said. ***6***
(H-YH/A/HAJM/20:40/H-YH)
(T.SYS/B/H-YH/A/H-YH) 30-07-2011 20:37:36
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
