JAKARTA, Indonesia _ Indonesia is hoping that more than 80,000 home fans can roar the national team to an upset victory over Bahrain on Tuesday in the opening Group D match of the Asian Cup.

"If we were not convinced of our ability, we would not be here," said Indonesia's captain Ponaryo Astaman at a media conference on Monday. "I want our fans to turn the stadium into a sea of red and white," he said, referring to the Indonesian team's colors. "I am sure that with the passion of our fans our motivation will rise."

Authorities are predicting that the 88,000 capacity Gelora Bung Karno Stadium will be full for the tie, which is crucial fohat has been falling over much of the region since Saturday.

On Sunday, hosts Vietnam beat United Arab Emirates 2-0, while tournament favorites Australia needed a last-minute goal to tie against Oman in Thailand.

"This is a very, very difficult game. We are taking it very seriously," Macala said. "You can beat anybody, you can loose to anybody. That is football. It is nice."

He said home advantage could mean "an extra player for Indonesia."

Indonesia's run-up to the tournament has been unimpressive and it is missing the country's top goal scorer through injury. Its best Asian Cup performance was in 2004 in China when it beat Qatar 2-1.

Bahrain beat Indonesia 3-1 in China and went to reach the semifinals, where they were narrowly beaten by Japan. Last year, the side only just missed out on what would have been its first-ever World Cup finals berth.

But its qualification for this year's Asian Cup has not been smooth, and coach Macala has only been with the side for one month.

"We are not frightened, we respect the side, but we will look for opportunities to win," said Indonesian coach Ivan Kolev, who is taking his second stab at coaching the national side in five years.