HANOI (24 Nov 2014) – It will all boils down to the mind game when Indonesia take on the Philippines in their second game of Group A of the AFF Suzuki Cup tomorrow at the My Dinh National Stadium.
The Philippines are currently leading the group by virtue of their 4-1 win over Laos in the group opener two days ago and where they will be looking to pick up their second win to take a big step towards a place in the next round.
“Indonesia are strong, we are the underdogs,” said Philippines coach Thomas Dooley. “But if we want to be the best in the region, then we have to play against the best.
Added Philippines captain Phil Younghusband: “we played Indonesia three times before and we have lost all three. So for the game tomorrow, we have to be careful of all the players from Indonesia. Any one of them can be dangerous.”
For Indonesian coach Alfred Riedl, he said that all matches are difficult at this level and there is no such thing as pegging Indonesia as the favourites.
“He (Dooley) is a smart coach, by putting all the pressure on us when he said that we are favourites. But there is no such thing, it is 50-50 really,” added Riedl.
“All matches are difficult and we both of us need to win the game tomorrow to make sure of our chances into the semi-finals.”
Indonesia captain Firman Utina realised just how much will be at stake against the Philippines.
“We all want to make the next round, so the players all know what will be expected in the game,” added Firman. “It will be an exceptional match against the Philippines and we have to bring our best game.”
