Despite using all naturalized foreign players, Indonesia still lost heavily to Libya before the Asian Cup

Coach Shin Tae-Yong fielded the Indonesian squad in both halves, including almost all 7 naturalized foreign players who had been called up for the Asian Cup. Among them was defender Justin Hubner (of Dutch origin), who had just completed his naturalization and is currently playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League.

Indonesia team (right) lost heavily to Libya right before Asian Cup

The 7 naturalized players of the Indonesian team attending the 2023 Asian Cup include Justin Hubner, Rafael Struick, Ivar Jenner, Sandy Walsh, Shayne Pattynama, Jordi Amat and Marc Klok.

However, Indonesia's naturalized foreign players failed to make an impression on the game. They let the Libyan team (ranked 120th in the world ) take the initiative for most of the match.

In the 25th minute, midfielder Marc Klok made a mistake when he retreated to defend and carelessly cleared the ball, allowing striker Ahmed Ekrawa to shoot in the penalty area past goalkeeper Syahrul, opening the score 1-0 for the Libyan team. In the first half, if it weren't for the crossbar and goalkeeper Syahrul's excellent performance in blocking Libya's chances, the Indonesian team would have conceded at least 2 to 3 more goals.

In the second half, coach Shin Tae-Yong made many personnel changes when he sent Hubner, Witan Sulaeman, Marselino Ferdinan, Egy Maulana, Hokky Caraka, Ivar Jenner and Jordi Amat onto the field, helping the Indonesian team create a better game.

However, the defense of the archipelago team still made many mistakes. In the 58th minute, midfielder Omar Al Khoja took advantage of the opportunity to score a goal to increase the score to 2-0 for the Libyan team. At the end of the match, when the Libyan team had withdrawn most of their key players, they still managed to score a third goal quite easily thanks to midfielder Nour Al Din Al Qulaib.

In the 90+2 minute, player Osamah Al-Shuraimi sealed the score 4-0 for the Libyan team. At the same time, the Indonesian team suffered a heavy defeat at the beginning of the new year 2024. This is also the 3rd consecutive match that the Indonesian team has not tasted victory, with 2 losses and 1 draw, including a 1-5 loss to Iraq and a 1-1 draw with the Philippines in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

Coach Shin Tae-Yong is under a lot of pressure due to the declining results of the Indonesian team.

Indonesia and Libya will meet again in a second friendly on January 5, also in Aksu, Türkiye. Indonesia will then face Iran on January 9 (in Qatar) as part of their preparations for the Asian Cup. The archipelago nation will then play their opening match in Group D of the 2023 Asian Cup against Iraq on January 15, Vietnam on January 19 and Japan on January 24, 2024.

In March 2024, the Indonesian team will meet the Vietnamese team in two key matches in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, including the first leg at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Jakarta) on March 21 and the second leg at My Dinh Stadium ( Hanoi ) on March 26, 2024.

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