24th Oct 2008. After finishing second in Group A, Indonesia will play the strong United Arab Emirates team in the quarterfinals of the beach soccer competition at Mertasari beach here Friday. Indonesia lost to Uzbekistan 1-4 in their final group match Thursday, having secured their quarterfinal berth after winning two matches. Indonesian coach I Made Mahayasa said he was nervous about the encounter with the UAE, which beat Oman 6-2 to maintain its 100 percent winning record as it completed the qualifying round Thursday.
“We expected to meet Oman in the quarterfinals, but now we are ready to fight any opponent,” Mahayasa said. He rated the UAE as a stronger team than Oman, as evident in their Group B match. Indonesia beat Timor Leste 9-1 and Qatar 6-3 en route to the last round of eight, while the UAE qualified for the round of eight with three wins in three matches.
Mahayasa said his team could not find the form that helped it overcome Timor Leste and Qatar when it played Uzbekistan. The Indonesians attempted to slow down the pace, only to allow the former Soviet Union state to step up the pressure and score. “We lost the game as we were not in our best shape. The fighting spirit was not as strong as usual. Goalkeeper I Kadek Sudarta seemed to lose his focus, making him unable to maintain his nerve during the game. Besides, he was playing with a finger injury,” Mahayasa said.
He praised Uzbekistan for its persistence, which he said was the key to wearing out his squad's defense. Mahayasa expects his squad to recover in time for the do-or-die match against the UAE. A defeat will lose Indonesia the chance to win any medal in the sport. Uzbekistan coach Avaz Maksumov expressed guarded optimism his team could overcome Oman and march on to the finals.
“However, we consider them a tough team to beat because of their intense training and experience in playing in the World Cup,” Maksumov said. He said his team had an 80 percent chance of winning the gold. “Of course we’d love to win and we will fight it out to claim the gold medal,” he added. Also competing in the quarterfinals are Group C winner South Korea, which will meet Group D runner-up China, and Bahrain, which will face Iran.
