Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Tomorrow, na big day wey Indonesia go face Saudi Arabia for FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers. Na the fourth round of di qualifiers wey go take place for Alinma Bank Stadium inside King Abdullah Sports City. Match dey start by 8:15 PM local time (17:15 GMT). If you wan catch all di pre-match gist, Al Jazeera Sport go dey start di build-up from 5:15 PM (14:15 GMT).
As e be, six teams dey waka for di qualifiers, with hope of entering di prestigious World Cup wey go happen for United States, Canada, and Mexico next year. Di third round don finish since June, but dis fourth round no be ‘ending of di road’ yet, as we still get intercontinental playoff wey dey wait for teams wey no fit make am. So, e mean say any team fit still grab chance of entering di World Cup.
How e go work be say, di six teams wey still dey in di race don divide into two groups. Each team go play once against each other, and di top teams straight go qualify for di World Cup. Di teams wey finish second go enter di two-legged playoff, and di winner go enter di intercontinental playoffs. Na big matter be dat.
As we dey prepare for di match, Indonesia finish fourth for Group C during di previous round, while Saudi Arabia need to shake off di disappointment of dia past losses before dis encounter. Patrick Kluivert, di coach of Indonesia and former Barcelona star, don tell him boys say dem no suppose fear di Saudi crowd. “If you fear, you go show your weakness,” na wetin him talk. Chai! Na confidence.
Di Indonesian side dey plan to represent over 280 million people, and di pressure dey high. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia don dey prepare too, with dem coach Herve Renard talking about di improvements him boys don make since di last loss to Indonesia. “We dey more confident and stronger now,” him talk but let’s see wetin di field go talk come tomorrow.
For di Indonesian camp, dem dey jujube na some key players like di first-choice goalkeeper Emil Audero and striker Marselino Ferdinan dey sidelined due to injury. Di young star Ferdinan score two goals for di last match dem play against di Saudis during di last qualifiers. Na wetin dem go miss, o!
Saudi Arabia no wan slack either, as Salem Al-Dawsari dey lead dia attack, don score 25 goals for him country. E go make sense to see how di Saudi side go handle di pressure of home expectations and how dem fit keep up with di Indonesian hustle.
So, na so di matter be; dis match get as e be – e fit make or break dem. As una dey set your hand to chop pop corn, enjoy di drama wey go unfold for di pitch, na im be di real show! Let’s see who go collect di ticket for di World Cup.
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