Indonesian National Team Official: Chinese Media’s Doubts About Our Naturalizations Are Just Psychological Warfare; I Treat It with a Smile

Recently, Indonesian media outlets Kompas and Jebreet have reported on the Indonesian national team’s journey in the World Cup qualifiers, focusing on the two away games scheduled for October.

The Indonesian media stated: “The Indonesian national team achieved draws in the first two matches of the third stage of the qualifiers. Although there were no wins, they can be considered one of the stronger teams in the group. Given that Indonesia has already secured one point each against Saudi Arabia and Australia, the team has gained some confidence. In other words, the goal for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in October is to secure three points in both matches. Currently, the Indonesian team is not afraid of the Chinese national team or Bahrain.”

Meanwhile, Smariz, the chairman of BTN, the organization overseeing the Indonesian national team, also expressed concerns through the media about the condition of the pitch at Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, the venue for the Chinese national team’s home games: “We received a report from our team sent to Qingdao. Unfortunately, the condition of the pitch seems very poor. We believe this is a serious issue and hope it will be fixed soon. Indonesia, ranked 129th in the world, is the lowest-ranked team in Group C according to FIFA rankings, but if we are underestimated by the opposing team, it doesn’t matter because our level is different now.”

Furthermore, the official also addressed comments made by Chinese media regarding the eligibility of Indonesia’s naturalized players: “I don’t care about it; it’s part of the psychological warfare the Chinese play. I treat it with a smile. This is a battle for national honor, so I think such trivial matters are bound to happen.”