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Indonesia eyes 9th place in Homeless World Cup street soccer tournament
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2018 Homeless World Cup logo (homelessworldcup.org/homelessworldcup.org)
G
one are the chances for Team Indonesia to rise in the 2018 Homeless World Cup (HWC) street soccer tournament in Mexico following a poor performance in the second round of qualifiers on Friday.
Indonesia is in third place in Group B, after Brazil and South Africa, having collected only seven points from five matches – two wins, two losses and one penalty shootout.
Meanwhile, defending champion and Group B leader Brazil, with 14 points, and runner-up South Africa, with 13 points, earned a spot in the main draw, fighting six other teams for the 2018 HWC trophy.
Indonesia still has a chance to compete for the Fundación Carlos Slim Trophy, which is for teams ranked ninth to 16th in the tournament.
“We lost a point in a match that we could have won,” Indonesia coach Aulia Rahman said after Friday’s matches at Zocalo Capitalino in Mexico City.
In the three matches that day, Indonesia collected winning points for beating Norway 4-3 and Zimbabwe 9-4. In the third match against South Africa, Indonesia lost 5-1.
To reach its 9th-place target, Indonesia needs to win against Peru on Saturday before dueling either Bulgaria or Austria.
“Although it isn’t the HWC Trophy, at least we have to play our best to win each match to be in ninth place. Indonesia has always finished in the top 10,” said Aulia, referring to the team’s participation in the tournament since 2011.
The Homeless World Cup is an annual street soccer tournament organized by the Homeless World Cup Foundation, a social organization dedicated to eradicating homelessness and social marginalization. (nkn)
