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fter a recent 0–1 defeat in a friendly match against Jordan, the Indonesian national soccer team will brave the Persian den in Azadi Stadium in Tehran for their first match against Iran of Group E in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers on Friday.

“Iran is the strongest team in the Group E drawing. Its national team has a good history and I know that with its current coach [Carlos Queiroz], it has the potential to be even better. However, we did not come here to merely give away three points just like that. We will fight hard,” Indonesia’s national head coach Wim Rijsbergen said in a pre-match media conference as quoted in a release on Thursday.

Rijsbergen expects the team to play more defensively with fast counter attacks.

“[Tomorrow’s] match will be very difficult. I’ve been with the Indonesia national team for only the past two months, and now we are ranked 131st in the world. This is the team’s best moment to see how far their quality of play [will take them] in the world and for their future learning. Hopefully, we can snatch some points in this match,” Rijsbergen said.

Meanwhile, Iranian team head coach Carlos Queiroz gave high praise to the Indonesians.

“Indonesia is our toughest rival in the group because they are our first opponents. I’ve seen that they play hard and attack. Unlike we who are quite late in preparation due to the ongoing league, they have lots of time to focus on their national team. They are dangerous rivals and I hope fans come to the stadium tomorrow to help us win,” Queiroz said, repeating his request over the weekend for 100,000 Iranian fans to flock to the stadium and support the host team.

“We’re not so worried about the supporters. We are more concerned with the cold weather. We are not used to it, which makes it hard for us to breathe,” Indonesian team captain Firman Utina said, regarding reports that temperatures in Tehran would drop significantly in the evening.

The match kicks off at 8 p.m. Tehran time (10:30 p.m in Jakarta).

Iran is ranked 53rd in FIFA’s world rankings in August. Indonesia is 131st.

Iran has appeared three times at the World Cup, in 2006, 1998 and 1978, while Indonesia appeared once, in 1938.

During Tuesday’s training session, Rijsbergen filed a protest with the local organizing committee for failing to provide decent training facilities for the Indonesian team.

The field reportedly had no boundarylines and contained gravel, which is hazardous to the players. Tensions rose when Azadi Stadium Sports Complex security officers prevented Wim from training on the stadium’s field. Finally, after waiting for half an hour, the Indonesia team was given a better field to practice on.

In the other Group E qualifying round on Friday, Bahrain hosts Qatar at its National Stadium in Manama.

Indonesia will host Bahrain on Sept. 6, Qatar on Oct. 11 and Iran on Nov. 15 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.