JABAR EKSPRES – PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir reminded the football-loving public that the friendly match on June 19 is a match between Indonesia and Argentina, not Indonesia against Messi All Star.
This was said by Erick when asked to respond to the reaction of netizens who said a number of ticket owners for the Indonesia vs Argentina match planned to make returns following the news that superstar Lionel Messi would not participate in La Albiceleste’s squad to Jakarta.
“I have said from the beginning, this is a match between the Indonesian national team and the Argentine national team. If the Indonesian national team and Messi alone means the national team match and Messi All Star. It’s different,”Erick Thohir told the media crew at the Presidential Palace Jakarta, Tuesday.
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Erick Thohir emphasized that Indonesia’s match against Argentina on paper has the same status as Indonesia against Palestine – which took place on Wednesday (14/6) at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, East Java – namely FIFA Matchday.
“FIFA Matchday we are looking for points yes, with Palestine tomorrow night we (also) look for points,” he said.
Erick Thohir admits that facing Argentina cannot be simply equated with fighting Palestine, because Shin Tae-yong’s tacticians must make more careful preparations considering that the team faced is the 2022 World Cup champion.
Nevertheless, Erick Thohir asked all parties not to focus only on the match against Argentina and ignore that Indonesia also needs to achieve a positive result against Palestine which is important to affect the points and ranking of the Garuda squad in the FIFA ranking.
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In particular, Erick said that the match against Argentina was an important moment to improve the mentality and perception of Indonesian football in the eyes of the world.
