AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023/ Indonesia Coach Says His Team Have a Clue on Performance of Iraq Squad

Doha, January 14 (QNA) - The Korean coach of the Indonesian football team Shin Tae-yong confirmed that his squad are ready to confront Iraq Monday during the AFC Asian Cup opener until Feb. 10. Commenting at a press conference ahead of Iraq match, Shin Tae-yong said his team are on standby to meet the Iraqi counterpart, the same team they confronted in the FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers. He affirmed that his footballers are determined to perform differently this time in front of Iraq. He talked about the reasons behind losing to Iraq in the world cup qualifiers, alluding them to the lack of good preparation amid challenging circumstances that beset the team in that match. The Iraqi team enjoy physical strength, but this won't dissuade Indonesia from performing well in Monday's match, Tae-yong noted, adding that the journey is going to be challenging for the possibility of qualifying for the second stage in this tournament, specially that Indonesia will face a strong group that includes Japan, Iraq, and Vietnam. However, he affirmed, the team will make utmost efforts to perform well on the pitch and the good performance requires attacks and scoring perfect goals, because playing in a defensive manner in front of those powerful teams will not pay off so much. Speaking at the press conference, the Indonesian footballer Asnawi Mangkualam said the team are ready for facing Iraq Monday since they have a clue on the Iraqi performance, because they competed them once. Mangkualam added that his team have been analyzing the performance of the Iraqi team through footages to discern their weaknesses and strengths in order to take advantage of their weaknesses. (QNA)