The Indonesian soccer federation has promised to pay its players a bonus for even a draw ahead of the national team’s trial against Argentina.
“We plan to pay bonuses to our players even if we draw, let alone if we win,” said Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) president Eric Tohir, according to Antara news agency on Monday (Nov. 18), in a bid to boost player morale.
“This will be the first time that we will receive a bonus for a draw,” he said, explaining that a draw against world No. 1 Argentina will give us 4.5 FIFA ranking points, which will help us move up the rankings.”
Indonesia, which will play Argentina in an exhibition match at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta on Sept. 19, is ranked 149th in the FIFA rankings, but the country’s soccer fever is high, with 60,000 tickets sold out for the Argentina match.
However, captain Lionel Messi (36) will not be seen on the field as he will be traveling to Indonesia for a family vacation instead of traveling with the team after their exhibition match against Australia in Beijing, China on March 15. Angel Di Maria (35) and Lisandro Martinez (25-Manchester United) will also be absent from the match.
However, Indonesian authorities have deployed thousands of police officers from the airport to the players’ accommodation, training centers and stadiums in preparation for the highly anticipated Argentina match.메이저사이트
The PSSI has also closed the Argentine players’ training and other events to the public.