National Team Captain Asnawi Mangkualam Happy Many New Players At TC

Shin Tae-yong (right) together with Asnawi Mangkualam (left) in a press conference ahead of the trial match against Tanzania in Jakarta, Saturday (01/06/2024). (ANTARA/FAJAR SATRIYO)

JAKARTA - A number of new players were summoned to the training camp (TC) and the captain of the Indonesian national team, Asnawi Mangkualam admitted that there were no difficulties adapting to them.

The Garuda squad has been undergoing TC since May 28 to prepare ahead of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Iraq and the Philippines.

"If all the players are in good condition, with the cohesiveness of course with several players present at TC this time, we have met at TC before and those present at TC this time are also almost the same for all players, so there is nothing difficult for adaptation to date," said Asnawi Mangkualam at a press conference, reported by ANTARA, Saturday, June 1.

Before qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Indonesia will undergo a trial match against the Tanzanian national team which will take place at the Madya Stadium, Jakarta, Sunday at 16.00 WIB.

According to Asnawi, the match against Tanzania is very important to keep the team up and in physical preparation ahead of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

"For tomorrow's match, of course, it is also very important because to finalize our preparations for the World Cup Qualification later and of course on the 6th and 11th it is an important match for Indonesia to be able to advance to the next round, indeed there are several players who have not been present, but all the players present in the last few days have prepared and are in good condition, hopefully in tomorrow's match they can give their best and avoid injury," said the former PSM Makassar player.

Asnawi said that the match against Tanzania had not yet been conducted in-depth analysis because it was the focus of the match as a trial focused on maintaining the condition of the players.

"For tomorrow's match, yes, until now there has been no discussion with other players, because in tomorrow's friendly match, we are only focused on our current team, more focused on improving the condition of all players to avoid injury, and the focus is on the 6th and until now there has been no communication about Tanzania," concluded Asnawi.