Football
ESPN staff 9y

Banned Indonesia dream of upsetting hosts Singapore in SEA Games

Indonesia's U23 players have nothing to lose and will put aside the fear factor to go all out to eliminate host nation Singapore from the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games football competition on Thursday night, according to the nation's technical director Pieter Huistra.

The two nations face off in the final Group A match at the Jalan Besar Stadium with Indonesia needing only a draw to knock out Aide Iskandar's Young Lions.

"Fear is never good so there should be no fear at all, as they trust in their own ability in a big game like this," Huistra told ESPN FC. "To win through to the semifinals would be a very positive thing for Indonesian football amongst many negative things."

The Indonesians were allowed to compete in the SEA Games, despite a FIFA ban imposed on the nation at the end of last month in the wake of in-fighting between the sport's governing body and the Indonesian government.

Huistra, a former Dutch international who played for Glasgow Rangers in the 1990s, said he was impressed by how the U23 side had performed at the SEA Games despite the turmoil back home. After losing their opening match to Myanmar, they have responded by defeating Cambodia 6-1 and Philippines 2-0 to sit in second place in Group A, behind Myanmar, but above Singapore on goal difference.

"The preparation for this team was quite nerve-wracking because they didn't know if they were going to participate or not and they came from clubs who weren't training because there was no league anymore," Huistra said.

"The coaches had to put them altogether and put them in a positive frame of mind. There is some talent in the team and some good football players."

Huistra added that disillusioned fans back home were starting to take a strong interest in the progress of the U23 side.

"After the 6-1 win against Cambodia, everyone started to get interested again. They're very curious to see how far this team can go."

With Aji Santoso looking after the U23 side, Huistra is the interim head coach of the senior national side. But the FIFA ban means that Merah Putih aren't able to take part in the second round of AFC World Cup qualifiers, which begin in earnest on Thursday night.

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