Indonesia go up against Palestine

AFC – SOLO, Indonesia will take on Palestine on Monday evening here in the first of two friendly tune-up matches before embarking on their 2014 FIFA World Cup third round qualifying against Iran.

The Merah Putih line up against Iran on September 2 in Tehran but after the match against Palestine travel to Jordan to face the West Asians in another preparatory game.

“Palestine has a similar playing style with Iran and that’s why we picked them for the friendly. We all know Iran is better than Palestine, but they have a similar style and also similar size,” Indonesia assistant coach Liestiadi Lo said on Sunday.

Indonesia were drawn into Group E of the third round of Asian qualifying with Iran, Bahrain and Qatar.

According to Liestiadi, the match would provide a chance for the reserves to prove themselves. While captain Firman Utina and defender Ricardo Salampessy are recovering from hamstring injuries, midfielder Ahmad Bustomi has a thyroid gland problem.

“We’ll have a chance to use almost all the players in the squad, so we’ll have a last look before deciding on the 18 players who will play against Iran,” Liestiadi said.

Palestine caretaker coach Abdul Nasser Barakat said: “We are still looking for a firm and strong foundation until we get a new coach. All the Palestinian players are from our domestic league.”