With China confirming that the second home match of the Asian 18-team World Cup will be played at the Qingdao Youth Stadium, Indonesia is highly concerned. According to the Tonight Newspaper.
Indonesia
The team is continuing to push for the naturalization of players and is keeping a close eye on both Bahrain and China with a view to gaining an advantage in key matches.
The Indonesian Football Federation (FIBA), which has previously renewed the contract of team manager Shin Tae-Yong, is now actively pushing forward with pre-tournament preparations and player naturalization. According to the schedule, Indonesia will have three away matches in the first four rounds of the 18-team tournament, including consecutive away matches against Bahrain and China on the International Match Day in October. These two matches are crucial to Indonesia's prospects of qualifying for the group, so the Indonesian side is paying close attention to the developments in Bahrain and China.
The Chinese team has confirmed that they will face Indonesia on October 15 at the Qingdao Youth Stadium. This means that the Indonesian team will have to quickly travel from Muharraq, Bahrain to Qingdao after their match against Bahrain in order to allow more time for rest and preparation.
According to the information disclosed by the Indonesian media, due to the lack of direct flights between Bahrain and Qingdao, no matter which travel option the Indonesian team chooses, the journey time will not be less than 24 hours. This poses a great challenge to the physical fitness and preparation of the Indonesian team, as well as a test for the Chinese team's logistical support. How to establish some advantages in this regard as much as possible will be a problem that both teams need to solve.
The Indonesian team is being strengthened by advancing player naturalization and other preparatory measures for the upcoming important matches. China, on the other hand, will need to capitalize on its home advantage and put in place adequate logistics to ensure that the team can be at its best when it counts.
