Erick Thohir Opens Opportunities for Indonesia Against Malaysia in the Trial Party

– The general chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir, revealed that the Indonesian national team has the opportunity to play a trial match against Malaysia. But he could not confirm when the match would take place.

“Malaysia, I’m very open to play against Malaysia, sometime. But they also have a match in China, if I’m not mistaken, there is an invitation. Well, this is why the current FIFA Match Day is very important. Me, Vice Chairman, and Exco ( The Executive Committee) really planned well, because it’s not like in the past where they only sent letters hoping to be worried whether they could come tomorrow,” said Erick in a press conference which took place at the Danareksa Building, Jakarta, Friday (23/6/2026) afternoon.

Erick stated that he and his team really considered many factors in organizing FIFA Match Day, because the main objective of the match was to earn points to increase Indonesia’s position in the FIFA ranking list.

“Whether we like it or not, it is difficult to organize this year’s FIFA Match Day in October. Because there is a World Cup Qualification. We are different from Malaysia, they immediately play in the next stage, in November. This means we have to play in October first God willing, we will win, and we will play in November,” said Erick, who also serves as BUMN Minister.

In September 2023, PSSI will be busy with the AFC U-23 Cup qualifiers which will be held in Solo, Central Java. This championship is very important because if it manages to qualify for the finals, Indonesia has the chance to get a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics if it manages to finish in the top three.

Even so, Erick emphasized that in September, the Indonesian national team would still be playing matches.

“So, what I can confirm is that there will be a match in September. Just wait, we are sending letters to four to eight countries, but what is certain is that we are looking for points,” said Erick.

“About next year, I can’t talk about it at the moment. Remember, if we win in October-November, God willing, we will play again in March in World Cup Qualification, if we win in March, we will play again in June , and if we win again, we will play again in September. And because this is a qualifier for the 2026 World Cup,” said Erick.

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