Indonesia eye tough opener

JAKARTA: After watching his side manage straightforward wins against Timor Leste and Chinese Taipei in their warm-up matches, Indonesia assistant coach Wolfgang Pikal is expecting a much sterner test when the Group A hosts face Malaysia in their AFF Suzuki Cup opener on Wednesday.

The Malaysians are fielding a fairly youthful side and have been badly affected by injuries in their build-up to the biennial tournament, but Indonesia are not about to take the Tigers lightly.

ACL, AFCC 2010 teams

Kuala Lumpur: The list of participating teams in the 2011 edition of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup has been announced.

Thirty teams get direct entry to the AFC Champions League while two more join them via the play-offs.

In the AFC Cup there are 28 direct entries while four teams will come through the AFC Champions League play-offs.

The play-off for the ACL will involve, from the West: Dempo SC (India), Al Sadd (Qatar), Al Ittihad (Syria) and Al Ain (UAE). From the East, Sriwijaya (Indonesia) and Thailand (Muangthong United) are eligible.

Pressure is off for Malaysia

JAKARTA: His side may have ended their long gold medal drought at the South-east Asia Games last year but Malaysia team manager Datuk Subahan Kamal has insisted that his players will be under no pressure to emulate that feat in this year's AFF Suzuki Cup.

Malaysia have not reached the final of the Asean region's premier international football tournament since finishing runners-up to Thailand in the inaugural tournament in Singapore in 1996.

Thais look to shake off fatigue for Laos test

JAKARTA: Fatigue and fitness are the key concerns for Thailand and Laos ahead of their AFF Suzuki Cup Group A opener at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Wednesday.

Thailand coach Bryan Robson has expressed worries about the freshness of his side, which only arrived in Indonesia on Monday after 12 players had been involved in the Thai FA Cup final a day earlier.

Meanwhile, his English compatriot, Laos coach David Booth is sweating on the health of some of his players who are feeling the effects of a case of food poisoning last week.