Reigning world champions Argentina may have beaten Indonesia 2-0 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Monday’s friendly match, but the Timnas Garuda‘s performance drew many praises as they stood firm and fearless against arguably the best national team in the world right now.
Ranked only 149th in the FIFA rankings, Indonesia belittled their lowly standings and defended well against a strong Argentina side that dominated proceedings, with La Albiceleste having to wait 38 minutes until they could finally break the deadlock.
Despite without the likes of Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, and Nicolas Otamendi, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni still named a strong side against Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia, with the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Giovanni Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, and Julian Alvarez starting, while La Albiceleste‘s bench also contained some notable names in Alejandro Garnacho, Lucas Ocampos, Thiago Almada, Giovanni Simeone, Alexis Mac Allister, and Enzo Fernandez.
Monday’s friendly saw Tae-yong finally handing Viking FK defender Shane Pattynama his Indonesia debut, after administrative issues and injuries had hampered the defender’s Timnas Garuda bow.
As expected Argentina immediately assumed complete control of the game, with Lo Celso enticing a Pattynama block in the 4th minute with his effort.
Six minutes later it was Nahuel Molina’s turn to threaten the Timnas Garuda goal, with Ernando Ali punching away the incoming ball to deny the Atletico Madrid right-back.
Argentina kept coming with their chances, however both Ali and captain Asnawi Mangkualam pulled off some impressive saves to keep the scoreline goalless.
Indonesia’s resistance finally broke down in the 38th minute, with Paris Saint-Germain man Paredes firing off a screamer from distance that went beyond Ali’s reaches.
Conceding the first goal did not diminish any of the Timnas Garuda‘s spirits and they almost drew level at the end of the first half. Dimas Drajad managed to find Ivar Jenner, with the FC Utrecht player forcing a save from Aston Villa goalie Martinez.
Pratama Arhan then channeled his inner Rory Delap and performed a long throw-in that sent the Argentinian defense into pandemonium in the 52nd minute, with the ball being headed towards the goal by Elkan Baggott. Luckily for Argentina, Martinez was alert and expertly deflected the ball away.
Three minutes afterwards it was Argentina’s turn to attack and they managed to double their lead, after Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero managed to thump in a header into Ali’s goal following a corner.
In the 57th minute, Arhan once again caused chaos in the Argentinian defense with his long throw, only for Rizky Ridho to fire the resulting ball wide, denying Indonesia their consolation goal.
The Timnas Garuda remained resolute with their game plan despite going two goals behind, defending bravely as Asnawi left substitute Garnacho frustrated with his tackles. This display of defensive football prevented Argentina from adding more to their lead.
In the end of the day, despite losing the match, Indonesia managed to win the hearts of many with their valiant, fearless display against the reigning world champions. A confidence-boosting performance against the world’s finest, Indonesia would surely look forward to the upcoming 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in January of next year, where they were drawn in a tough Group D with Japan, Iraq, and Vietnam, knowing that they could pack a punch against the big boys.