If fighting hard and battling hard were enough to win, then there would be no reason to talk about our team's 0:7 defeat on the road against Japan in the first round.
Australia's soccer skills have certainly regressed compared to the 2006 World Cup, but the skinny, bony kangaroos are still much bigger than the rats. Despite their current turbulent times, their overall strength still surpasses that of our national team.
If many self-proclaimed media personalities and fans were still under the illusion of qualifying for the 18-team tournament, they may have become relatively rational after the first two rounds of 18-team losses. They are no longer counting on the top four finishers in Bahrain and Indonesia to qualify for additional matches just to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table.
How can we make sure we don't finish at the bottom? Japan is clearly struggling to score in their home tournament. Ditto for away matches against Saudi Arabia. At home, our team is also scoreless. If we play in Australia, we might be able to get a point (at home) or zero, so our team can only go all out for points in Bahrain and Indonesia to try to checkmate each other.
The two matches in October, when our team lost to Australia on the road and tried to win all three points against Indonesia at home, may have been Ivan's strategic vision. This strategy seems to be borrowed from the ancient art of war, "Tian Ji Racehorse". However, will our team get what they want?
Currently, Indonesia is ranked 129th in the world by FIFA, which can be called the "Asian fish belly". However, after the introduction of a large number of "Dutch naturalized army", Indonesia's team is not what it used to be, the overall value of up to 24.53 million euros.
Looking back at previous meetings, our team has an absolute advantage in the confrontation with Indonesia. In the previous five meetings, our team is undefeated with 4 wins and 1 draw. The last meeting took place on November 15, 2013, in the Asian Cup qualification group stage, with Wu Lei's goal, our team 1:0 victory over Indonesia.
In the first two rounds of the 18-team tournament, Indonesia's opponents were not bad, playing a 1:1 draw with Saudi Arabia on the road and a 0:0 draw with Australia at home. Facing such an Indonesian team, it seems not easy for our team to win.
