Indonesia and Vietnam return to action in the World Cup qualifiers when they lock horns in the first of their Group F double-header at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Thursday.
Both sides met in group stages of the just-concluded AFC Asian Cup back in January, with the Red and White scrapping a narrow 1-0 victory at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
Match preview
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Indonesia suffered a round-of-16 exit from the Asian Cup on January 28 when they fell to a humbling 4-0 defeat at the hands of Australia at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Elkan Baggott gave Australia a dream start to the game when he netted a 12th-minute own goal before Martin Boyle, Craig Goodwin and Harry Souttar found the target to cap off a solid Socceroo performance.
This was in keeping with their disappointing performance in the group stages, where they suffered defeats against Iraq and Japan on either side of a slender 1-0 win over Vietnam on January 19 to finish third in Group D with three points from a possible nine.
Indonesia, who are currently 142nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings, now turn their attention to the World Cup qualifiers, where they will be looking to get up and running having endured a slow start to the campaign.
The Red and White kicked off their qualifying journey with a 5-1 loss to Iraq on November 16, five days before coming from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Philippines courtesy of a second-half equaliser from Saddil Ramdani.
Shin Tae-Yong's men have failed to win eight of their last nine matches across all competitions — losing seven and claiming one draw — with November's victory over Vietnam being the exception.
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On the other hand, Vietnam head into Thursday's clash following a truly forgettable run in the Asian Cup, where they lost each of their three games to finish rock-bottom in Group D.
Following a 4-2 defeat against Japan in their opening game on January 14, Philippe Omar Troussier's men were beaten 1-0 by Indonesia, before ending their campaign with a 3-2 loss to Iraq on January 24.
Vietnam will be looking to turn their fortunes around on Thursday as they focus their efforts on the World Cup qualifiers, where they have picked up three points from their opening two matches.
Goals in either half from Nguyen Van Toan and Nguyen Dinh Bac inspired the Golden Star Warriors to a 2-0 opening-day victory over Philippines on November 16, five days before crashing back down to earth in a 1-0 loss against Iraq at the My Dinh National Stadium.
Vietnam head into Thursday's tie on a run of five consecutive defeats across all competitions, conceding 11 goals and scoring five since November's win over Philippines.
However, they will be backing themselves to end this poor run as they go up against an Indonesia side against whom they are unbeaten in 11 of their last 13 encounters, claiming four wins and seven draws since September 2012.
Team News
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Indonesia have called up 26 players for the upcoming games against Vietnam, including the likes of Pratama Arhan, Nadeo Argawinata and Ado Den Hag striker Rafael Struick.
Twenty-year-old Ivar Jenner started the game against Australia last time out and should retain his role in the XI, while Asnawi Mangkualam, Justin Hubner and Sandy Walsh should form the back three.
Skiper Mangkualam netted the only goal of the game when Indonesia and Vietnam met in the Asian Cup back in January and the 24-year-old will look to deliver the goods once again.
There are also several new faces in the Indonesia squad, with the likes of Jay Idzes, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Thom Haye and Fortuna Sittard man Ragnar Oratmangoen in line to make their debuts.
Meanwhile, Troussier have named a solid squad for their upcoming matches, with the likes of Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Quang Hai and Bui Tien Dung headlining the squad.
Thep Xanh Nam Dinh striker Van Toan has netted seven goals in 60 appearances for Vietnam and should spearhead the attack, while Nguyen Thai Son, Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Quang Hai should team up at the centre of the park.
Indonesia possible starting lineup:
Argawinata; Arhan, Febriansah, Walsh; Ridho, Hubner, Jenner, Mangkualam; Ferdinan, Struick, Sanata
Vietnam possible starting lineup:
Nguyen; Trong, Bao, Phan, Thanh, Dung; Son, Hoang, Hai; Van Toan, Linh
We say: Indonesia 2-1 Vietnam
Coming off a humbling loss against Australia, Indonesia will head into Thursday's game looking to bounce back. While we expect Vietnam to put up a fight, we are backing the Red and White to claim all three points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
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