Jokowi Values ​​Indonesia Successfully Balanced Argentina’s Game Despite Losing

– President Joko Widodo assessed that the game of the Indonesian national team could keep up with world champion Argentina, even though in the end they had to suffer a 0-2 defeat in the FIFA Match Day match at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday (19/6/2023) evening.

The President expressed his pride in the appearance of Asnawi Mangkualam and his colleagues after watching the match live.

“Very good. In my opinion, the hard work of our players is extraordinary,” Jokowi told reporters after the game.

“We need to see, Argentina is ranked first and we are ranked 149th, but we can still be balanced. Even though we conceded two goals, I think we can be even,” the President added.

The Head of State hopes that the friendly match against the 2022 World Cup winning team can be the start of the awakening of Indonesian football.

According to the President, one way to achieve this is by learning and gaining experience dealing with teams that are above Indonesia in the FIFA rankings.

“Yesterday against Palestine, who are ranked 93rd, we were able to hold them back with a score of 0-0. Then against Argentina, who are once again in first place, while we are ranked 149th, we only conceded two goals, this is extraordinary, ” he said.

The President considered that the match was a valuable experience for the Garuda National Team.

“When we saw at the start of the match, they were a bit nervous and still not confident. But in the second half, they appeared extraordinary, able to balance. This is also an experience and evaluation for our national team,” said Jokowi.

Indonesia had to admit Argentina’s advantage and lost 0-2 in the FIFA Match Day match at SUGBK, on ​​Monday night. Leandro Paredes’ long-range shot and Cristian Romero’s header thrilled Ernando Ari’s goal.

This result marked the end of the Indonesian National Team’s FIFA Match Day match schedule in June, after previously drawing 0-0 against Palestine at the Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, on Wednesday (14/6) last week.