D

espite not knowing much about each other, the Indonesian and Turkmenistan Under-23 soccer teams said they were confident of winning Wednesday’s first leg match of the pre-Olympic tournament at the Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Indonesian U23 team head coach Alfred Rield said he had instructed his players to stay alert in the match because Turkmenistan played well in last year’s Asian Games by crushing Vietnam 6-0.

“Turkmenistan is a good team. We cannot be taken off guard and must remain alert. We are ready for the game,” Riedl said at a press conference Tuesday.

He added that he would stick to the 4-4-2 formation for the match, but said that could change later.

Riedl also played down any possibility of an advantage the Turkmens had by being taller.

“We still work on the players’ long passes, even if our opponents are taller. Moreover, we have fast players like Oktovianus Maniani,” Riedl said. Oktovianus helped the senior national side place second in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

Indonesian captain Yongki Aribowo said he placed full trust in Rield’s strategy, and added he did not know how the Turkmens would approach the game. “But I hear they are good,” he said.

Gunawan Dwi Cahyo, who also plays for Palembang club side Sriwijaya FC, said he was proud to be in the squad playing before a home crowd.

The Indonesian team is aiming to win the first leg to ease its progress in the second leg in Ashkabat on March 9 and into the following rounds.

Turkmen team coach Shukurov Tofik said his players’ height was not the only advantage they would bring to the game.

“The most important thing [to win the game] is the strategy. We’re eying to winning the first leg match as a perfect start to the next leg at home,” Tofik said.