JAKARTA (19 July 2011) – Wahyu Wijiastanto is the only new face while mercurial and oft-temperamental striker Boaz Solossa is back in the Indonesian national fold in preparation for their second round match of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Turkmenistan on 23 July 2011 away in Ashgabat.
The 25-year-old Persiba Bantul defender has replaced Hamka Hamzah, who is suffering from a foot injury.
The 19-man squad is a similar to the one which played at the last AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 with assistant coach Rahmad Darmawan being relied on to make the most recommendations.
“Of course we chose the best players available,” said newly-appointed Indonesia chief coach Wilhelmus Rijsbergen. “Rahmad knows more about these players, so we had intensive discussions before picking them.”
Rijsbergen admitted that he does not know a lot about Indonesian football having just experienced it for the last six months after joining PSM Makassar in January.
“Boaz is in good condition and he showed it in the training session, though he just joined the camp,” Rahmad said. “I think he’s still in good shape as he just played in the Indonesian Super League All-Star match in late June.”
The 25-year-old was last season’s Indonesia Super League (ISL) top scorer with 22 goals for Persipura Jayapura and the league’s player of the year.
“We will adjust the strategy according to the development of the match,” added Rahmad.
The return tie for the second round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers will be on 28 July 2011 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
INDONESIA NATIONAL TEAM
GOALKEEPERS: Ferry Rotinsulu, Markus Harison
DEFENDERS: Supardi, Zulkifly Syukur, M Nasuha, M Roby, Ricardo Salampessy, Wahyu Wiji Astanto
MIDFIELDERS: Ahmad Bustomi, Toni Sucipto, Eka Ramdani, Firman Utina, M Ridwan, Arif Suyono, Oktovianus Maniani, M Ilham
STRIKERS: Christian Gonzales, Bambang Pamungkas, Boaz Solossa
