In the May 26 chronology, Indonesia's preparatory opponents revealed that they will face Palestine in two weeks' time on the 14th, followed by a challenge from Argentina on the 19th.
It is reported that Indonesia has invested more than five million dollars for this warm-up match. Looking ahead, they will encounter more powerful teams, such as Brazil, Portugal, Morocco, etc., aiming to improve the strength of the team. After the warm-up match, Palestine and Indonesia will move to China to compete with the national team.
Indonesia are ranked 149th in the world and finished bottom of the group stage of the last World Cup qualifiers, behind the UAE, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. Despite the fact that they will be playing in the Asian Cup this year, Indonesia are still on the lower end of the scale. However, they made a clean sweep at the Southeast Asian Games, beating Vietnam and Thailand. Next up for them will be Palestine and Argentina.
It's worth noting that Indonesia's opponents, Palestine, are not ranked highly in Asia but are not to be underestimated. Many players play in Egypt and other leagues, including many naturalized players. This warm-up match, Indonesia's national soccer team will also compete with Palestine to compare the strength of both sides.
Argentina, who originally played the national soccer team, was temporarily changed to play Australia due to opposition from Du Zhaocai and others.
The head of the Indonesian Football Association, former Inter Milan boss Thohir, is now more high profile than the likes of Zhang Kangyang. He said the match would spark an unprecedented "boom" in Indonesia, providing a good experience for Indonesian players and helping them mature in the future. With the World Cup title on the horizon, Indonesia plans to invite more strong teams to warm up in the future and aim to build a strong squad.
Apart from Argentina, Thohir revealed that they have contacted associations such as Brazil, Portugal and Morocco (third place in the World Cup) and received favorable feedback. In addition, Russia, which has been struggling to find a rival, has also extended an olive branch to Indonesia.
With a nod from Indonesia, Russia will come and warm up to them without question, and perhaps even without paying. Although Indonesia has a history of controversy for offending Jews, they are not afraid to link up with Russia. Indonesia was the host of the U20 World Cup but refused to recognize Israel.
Thohir said that such a strong team can only come one per year. In other words, Portugal or Brazil have no warm-up with Indonesia this year.
However, Indonesia hopes that this trend will continue. It is not expected that the annual financial investment will be too much. Indonesian fans have been able to witness superstars at home every year, perhaps Ronaldo or Neymar will visit next year.
Unlike the national soccer team, Indonesia firmly believes that teams can improve by naturalizing players and warming up against stronger teams. They have invested unstintingly in warm-up matches and have tried to invite strong teams to come. At the same time, they have managed to convince a large number of European-born youngsters to join Indonesia, but keep them in Europe rather than the Indonesian league.
On the other hand, they will not miss the opportunity to play foreigners in the Indonesian league. Players such as Crocker (born in Holland), Amat (born in Barcelona, Spain), and Lillipalli (born in Holland) have been playing in the Indonesian league for five years. More naturalized players are expected to join in the future.
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