The Indonesian National Team Will Hold A Trial Match In Bali, Here Are 3 Potential Opponents

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team is scheduled to undergo a trial match in the FIFA Matchday agenda which will take place on January 24 to February 1 next. The plan, this activity will be held centrally in Bali.

Ahead of the test match, the PSSI Secretary General, Yunus Nusi, gave a leak about the potential opponent of the Garuda Squad. According to him, there are three countries that the national team plans to face in the trial match.

"The plan (trials are carried out) in Bali. Plans with Tajikistan, Brunei Darussalam or Bangladesh," he said in a statement received by VOI on Tuesday, January 4.

Brunei or Bangladesh is projected as the first opponent faced by the national team. After that, Shin Tae-yong's troops will face Tajikistan.

Previously, it was known that these two test matches were deliberately held to boost Indonesia's ranking in the FIFA rankings.

Currently, Indonesia is still perched in the 164th FIFA ranking, while Brunei is in the 188th rank, Bangladesh 186th, while Tajikistan is in the 116th position in the world.

Although potential opponents have been pocketed, PSSI still has not disclosed a schedule related to the training camp that will be held ahead of this trial. Not only that, PSSI has also not received a list of players who will be called up.

However, recently there has also been news that it is very likely that Shin Tae-yong will recall a young player. The players are also projected to appear in the AFF U-23 Cup which will take place on February 14-26.

Another thing before this international test match took place was the issue of permission. Because, PSSI must first ask for recommendations from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the Ministry of Health, and the COVID-19 Task Force.

This is an important condition for conducting trials, considering that the government itself is currently increasing health protocols and strict quarantine due to the increasing number of cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.