It Turns Out That There Are Many Things Behind The Trial Of The Indonesian Vs Timor Leste National Team, From FIFA Rankings To Political Affairs

The national team will appear in two test matches for Indonesia vs Timor Leste at the I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Bali on 27 and 30 January 2022. (photo: PSSI.org)

JAKARTA - The first trial match of the world's most popular sport, football between the Indonesian national team vs Timor Leste will be held at the I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Bali on Thursday night 27 January 2022. This meeting is the fourth time, in an officially recognized match. Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the parent organization of world football.

Please be aware, there are football match events that are not recognized by FIFA and points are not counted, so they have no effect on the country's ranking in world football. For example, a soccer match at the Southeast Asia Multi-Branch Games or SEA Games. FIFA also only recognizes matches at the senior national team level for inclusion in their rankings.

In the four meetings between Indonesia and Timor Leste, Red and White always won. The first meeting occurred in a trial ahead of the 2010 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup. The match was held at the Jakabaring Stadium, Palembang on November 21, 2010, and ended with a score of 6-0. The four Indonesian goals were scored by Moh. Ridwan (12'), Okto Maniani (28'), Cristian Gonzales (37' and 46'), Bambang Pamungkas (70'), and Yongki Aribowo (83'). At that time, the Indonesian national team was trained by the now deceased Austrian coach, Alfred Riedl.

Beto Goncalves was confronted by two East Timorese players in the Indonesia vs Timor Leste match at the 2018 AFF Cup in Jakarta. (Photo: Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

The second trial of Indonesia vs Timor Leste was also held in preparation for the 2012 AFF Cup. Held at the Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta on November 14, 2012, Indonesia narrowly won 1-0. Bambang Pamungkas' goal in the 67th minute secured the win. The national team was coached by a local coach from Payakumbuh, West Sumatra, Nilmaizar.

The third match of Indonesia vs Timor Leste was also a test before the 2014 AFF Cup and was held again at the Bung Karno Stadium on November 11, 2014. Indonesia won the duel with a score of 4-0. The four goals against Timor Leste were scored by naturalized players from the Netherlands, Sergio van Dijk (10'), Zulham Zamrun (40'), Evan Dimas (42'), and Samsul Arif (67'). The Indonesian national team was coached again by Riedl.

The last match between Indonesia vs Timor Leste took place in the 2018 AFF Cup. The match was held at the Bung Karno Stadium on November 13, 2018 as a match in Group B, which ended with a score of 3-1. Alfath Fathier (60'), Stefano Lilipaly (69') and Beto Goncalves (82') scored three goals for Indonesia. Meanwhile, a goal from Timor Leste by Rufino Walter Gama in the 48th minute marked the first goal of the team nicknamed The Rising Sun against Indonesia. At that time, the Indonesian national team was coached by a coach from Spain, Luis Milla.

Reasons to Choose Timor Leste

The Indonesian national team is currently ranked 164th in the FIFA rankings, while Timor Leste is at 196th. The Red and White Team is clearly the favorite, considering that they have always won in their previous four matches. So, what's the point of trying out against a team that is clearly weaker?

The first advantage is that Indonesia will have more opportunities to get additional points which will boost its position to a higher rank in the FIFA rankings. At least Indonesia will get an additional three points if it wins, so the ranking will rise to 161. The FIFA ranking system gives an additional 3 points in a test match if a team wins without going through a penalty kick. These numbers are then added up in a certain formula formulation, resulting in points from a match.

The second advantage is increasing the player's flying hours. Indonesian National team. Coach Shin Tae Yong combined 27 players who he called for a trial against Timor Leste, a mix of young and experienced players.

Coaches Shin Tae Yong and Evan Dimas with coaches Fabio Magrao and Nathaniel Reis from the Timor Leste national team (Photo: PSSI.org)

There were six new faces called by the South Korean coach, namely: Muhammad Adisatryo (Persik), Achmad Figo (Arema FC), Sani Rizki (Bhayangkara FC), Terens Puhiri (Borneo FC), Marselino Ferdinand (Persebaya) and Ronaldo Kwateh (Madura). United). They must be able to appear cohesive with colleagues who have been in the Indonesian national team for a long time, such as Evan Dimas, Pratama Arhan, Egy Maulana Vikri, and other players.

"This match is very important as preparation and seeing the development of players ahead of the AFF U-23 Cup, SEA Games, and the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifications," said Shin.

"Honestly, I have never watched a live Timor Leste match. However, I watched their match in the 2020 AFF Cup. As it turned out, they were better than I expected. They have speed and good ball possession," said the coach of the Indonesian national team again like quoted between.

At a press conference in Bali on Wednesday 26 January, Shin revealed the reason he chose Timor Leste as his opponent. There are three considerations that he has in mind from Timor Leste, namely: accuracy of passing, the speed of movement of the players, and the mobility of The Rising Sun squad.

"In my opinion the East Timorese players are good at passing, speed and mobility," added Shin.

Bilateral Cooperation

Indonesia and Timor Leste have a cooperation agreement in the field of sports since 2012. The most recent cooperation pact, signed in 2016 between the Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sports and Timor Leste. Both countries re-emphasized the importance of organizing border sports or border games. These activities are considered effective enough to strengthen and enhance bilateral relations between the two countries, through community interaction in the border areas. In addition to border sports, Indonesia and Timor Leste have also agreed to enhance bilateral relations through organizing friendly matches, training camps, and trials in various sports.

The Indonesia vs Timor Leste trial is not only to improve the technical ability of each national team and increase FIFA rankings, but also the realization of a cooperation agreement in the field of sports between the two countries.

Football in Timor Leste

Timor Leste officially joined FIFA in 2005, after the country officially became independent in 2002. Football has been known since the Portuguese colonial period, and grew even more when Timor Leste became the 27th province of Indonesia. Two players from Timor Leste have played for the Indonesian national team before independence, namely Miro Baldo Bento and Joao Bosco Cabral.

The Timor Leste Football Federation (FFTL) was formed at the same time as the country's independence. The Timor Leste national team made their international debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo on 21 March 2003 in pre-qualification for the 2004 Asian Cup.

Timor Leste against Myanmar in the AFF Cup 2020 (Photo: AFF Suzuki Cup)

“Football in Timor Leste is getting better now. Competitions for various age groups began to bloom in all corners of the country, including women's soccer. In fact, many football matches have been held in all districts," said Francisco Jeronimo, President of FFTL as quoted by FIFA.com.

Timor Leste screens national players from the highest caste football league competition known as Liga Amadora 1, which contains eight teams. Even though it is the highest level, the league is still an amateur. Currently, the Timor Leste national team is managed by a Brazilian coach, Fabio Marcel Magrao.

Indonesia vs Timor Leste national team trial matches will be held twice, namely 27 and 30 January. Both matches were held at the same place, Stadio I Wayan Dipta.