Jakarta, IO – The Indonesian national team will have a trial match against Iran at the Al Rayyan Training Site, Qatar, Tuesday (9/1) at 6pm local time. This is the last trial for the Garuda Squad before the Asian Cup kicks off in Qatar from January 12-February 10, 2024. Indonesia is in Group D with Japan, Iraq and Vietnam.
After holding a training camp in Antalya, Turkey, from December 21, 2023 to January 6, 2024, the team will continued its preparations in Doha. So far, it has carried out two trials against Libya, with a loss record of 0-4 and 1-2.
“We have gone through several weeks of very good training at the training camp, and two trial matches in preparation. Tonight will be the final match in preparation for the Asian Cup,” said striker Rafael Struick, per the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), Tue (9/1).
Rafael promised he and his teammates will show what they have learned after almost three weeks of training in a match against Iran tonight.
Read: BMKG Finds New Fault That Causes Sumedang Quake
In fact, the naturalized player from Ado den Haag FC is not intimidated by the reputation of Iran, which is considered one of the football powerhouses in Asia. The team coached by Amir Ghalenoei is currently ranked 21st in FIFA chart, the second best after Japan which placed 17th.
“I think what we need to do is to play with the best of our ability. So, we’ll see,” said the 20-year-old player. (rr)