REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) decided to send under-23 squad to face Bahrain in the last match of Pre-qualifying World Cup 2014. Most of the team members are new to international match. Yet, sending them to face Bahrain is a part of regeneration program of Indonesia Football Team.
“We think, now is the best chance for young players to get new experience. The match against Bahrain is not decisive for us,” Head of PSSI National Team Committee, Bob Hippy, said on Monday.
The experience gained from the match will help these junior players to develop their skills and become good footballers in the future. PSSI then reshuffled the senior national team squad and 'dumped' some senior players such as Hendro Kartiko and Bambang Pamungkas.
Hippy believes, young Indonesian footballers are potential players in the future. He cites U-17 squad’s performance at International Youth Football Invitation Tournament this week in Hongkong. The team ranked at the top place in the tournament.
“Some South East Asian nations like Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore now use young players in their senior squads. In this case, Malaysia was successful by winning AFF Cup and Sea Games. They could even defeat our team that supported by some naturalization players,” Hippy added.
The match between Indonesian and Bahrain teams is going to be held at Manama, Bahrain, on February 29. Bahrain needs to win at least 9-0 from Indonesia, to get to qualification. Only Iranian team has successfully secured its position at the final qualification. To join the club, Bahrain must compete with Qatar.
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