Jakarta –
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the victory of the Indonesian U-23 national team in the match against Turkmenistan at the Manahan Stadium, Solo, Central Java (Central Java) was history, because Indonesia had never won a match against Turkmenistan since 2012. He then called the U-23 national team’s victory a gift for the Chairman. PSSI General, Erick Thohir’s birthday.
“I came with the Chairman of PSSI, Mr Erick Thohir, to provide support for the match tonight between our U-23, our national team and Turkmenistan and I saw the match was very hard, attacking each other, and we already know the result is 2-0. This is “history because I was told earlier, from 2012 until now we have never won with Turkmenistan. I think this is Mr Erick’s birthday present,” said Jokowi in his statement, Tuesday (12/9/2023).
The Indonesian U-23 national team managed to qualify for the finals of the U23 Asian Cup in Qatar 2024 after beating Turkmenistan 2-0. Jokowi was present to directly watch the match with the First Lady, Iriana Jokowi and her grandson, Jan Ethes.
In the match against Turkmenistan, Garuda Muda managed to take the lead in the first half through a goal scored by Ivar Jenner in the 40th minute. In the second half, Indonesia consolidated its victory with a goal scored through Pratama Arhan’s header in the final minute before the referee blew the long whistle.
“I think we saw that all the lines supported each other well. The front was good, the middle was good, the back was good. I think that’s what I saw in the collaboration that they understood each other and everyone played well,” he said.
With this victory, the Indonesian U-23 national team managed to top the qualifying group K standings for the 2024 U23 Asian Cup by pocketing 6 points, the result of two wins. The Indonesian national team won their first victory when they beat Chinese Taipei 9-0 on Saturday (9/9).
“Yes, it’s still a bit long (the time to get to the U-23 Asian Cup final in Qatar-ed), in April. So the preparations are longer so I think we will go there in a much better prepared condition. I think everyone is playing well ,” said Jokowi.
For your information, the U-23 Asian Cup finals in Qatar will take place from April 15 to May 3 2024.
“Once again, it’s still a long way until April 2024, we have to continue to ensure that the cooperation gets better and there are no mistakes in passing,” he added.
(dek/aud)
2023-09-12 16:15:22
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