March 4, 2024

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Argentina to Visit Indonesia for National Team Friendly

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Argentina to Visit Indonesia for National Team Friendly

The visit will be a part of a South American team tour of Asia that also includes a stop in Beijing on June 15 for a friendly match against Australia.

Argentina, the World Cup champions, will travel to Indonesia for a friendly match against the national team next month, the country’s top football official announced on Wednesday, giving the nation’s recent soccer failures a boost.

The visit will be a part of a South American team tour of Asia that also includes a stop in Beijing on June 15 for a friendly match against Australia.

The announcement comes at a time when Argentina is hosting the Under-20 World Cup in place of Indonesia, a country with a majority of Muslims, which was kicked out of the competition in March due to domestic opposition to Israel’s participation.

Eight months have passed since one of the world’s deadliest stadium stampedes in Indonesia claimed 135 lives as fans scurried for cover as police fired tear gas into the crowd in Malang, East Java.

Indonesia has struggled to establish itself in the international game since making one World Cup appearance back in 1938 as the Dutch East Indies, despite the fact that soccer is huge in the nation of 270 million people.

However, the excitement among its supporters is currently high following its first gold medal since 1991 at the South East Asian Games last week.

“This is great momentum for Indonesian soccer to maintain its resurgence,” The president of the Indonesian football association (PSSI), Erick Thohir, discussed the Argentina game during a press conference.

The match’s date, June 19, was announced on Twitter by the Argentinean football association, but former Inter Milan owner Erick did not provide a specific date.

Asked if captain Lionel Messi would be coming to Indonesia, he said “Argentina, in my opinion, will send their best team.”

The visit had nothing to do with Argentina hosting the youth tournament instead of Indonesia, but was based on “mutual cooperation” between them, he said, adding Argentine Javier Zanetti, a former defender for Inter, had a part to play.

The legendary Diego Maradona participated in the 1979 World Youth Championship match between Argentina and Indonesia, which was played in Japan. Indonesia lost 5-0.

Reference: indianexpress.com

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