Indonesia’s U-23 soccer team has promised a gift for Independence Day in the form of a victory over Laos in the next Group A men’s soccer match of the 2018 Asian Games.
The Indonesian team will meet Laos on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of independence on Friday, at the Patriot Chandrabaga Stadium, Bekasi, West Java, starting at 7 PM.
“We will present a gift for Indonesian Independence Day. We’re optimistic we’ll beat Laos,” said assistant coach of the U-23 national team Bima Sakti after training his team members at Soccer Field B of the Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday.
Bima added that his team would not dishonor the auspicious moment of Indonesian independence, which he described as the most beautiful time for the state and the nation, so that apart from victory the team would also offer an impressive performance in the match against Laos.
“We promise to play better than in our previous outing and it will certainly be more entertaining,” he insisted. The Indonesian U-23 team on Aug. 15 was defeated by the Palestine U-23 team,1-2.
The defeat has not ruled out the possibility of Indonesia retaining second position in Group A, but any negative result from the match against Laos will complicate the further moves of coach Luis Milla in the Games.
However, Indonesia forward Alberto “Beto” Goncalves has declared that no negative result will come from the contest against Laos. Moreover, the national team’s spirit will be doubled as the day of the match coincides with the national independence anniversary.
“The players will get a boost in spirit as it will be Indonesian Independence Day. I think Laos isn’t as strong as Palestine. This means there will be many chances and we should be prepared to benefit from them,” said Beto.
(Source : Antara)
