Indonesia team suffers heavy defeat ahead of Asian Cup

Indonesia lost 0-4 to Libya in the first friendly match to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup, on the afternoon of January 2 during a training trip in Türkiye.

* Goals: Ekrawa 25', Al Khoja 58', El Gelaib 89', Al Qudar 90'+2

Libya is ranked 120th in FIFA and just drew with Cameroon in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Africa. They include mostly domestic players but also have notable stars, notably midfielder Ali Al Musrati of Portuguese club Braga. Libya's playing style is quite similar to West Asian representatives such as Saudi Arabia, UAE or Qatar.

With the aim of testing the lineup, Indonesia fielded many familiar players playing domestically in the first half. In the first five minutes, Indonesia attacked aggressively with the first dangerous situation being a shot by Saddil Ramdani that goalkeeper Murad Al Wuheeshi had to work hard to block.

Indonesia (red shirt) lost 0-4 to Libya in a friendly match on the afternoon of January 2, Türkiye time. Photo: PSSI

In the second half, Indonesia only kept the goalkeeper and replaced 10 players with notable naturalized names such as center back Jordi Amat who played in La Liga for Rayo Vallecano, 20-year-old center back Justin Hubner of Wolves in the Premier League, or 19-year-old striker Ivar Jenner of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Indonesia started excitedly with Adam Alis' shot hitting the post in the 50th minute, but mistakes in defense made them pay the price.

The two teams will play again on January 5. After the match, Libya will head to the African Cup of Nations, while Indonesia will travel to Qatar for their final friendly match against Iran on January 9. Coach Shin Tae-yong and his team will play their opening match of the Asian Cup against Iraq on January 9, then face Vietnam on January 19 and Japan on January 24.

Starting lineup

Indonesia: Syahrul Trisna, Yakob Sayuri, Rizky Ridho, Wahyu Prasetyo, Pratama Arhan, Marc Klok, Ricky Kambuaya, Saddil Ramdani, Dendy Sulistyawan, Dimas Drajad, Rafael Struick

Libya: Murad Al Wuheeshi, Elmahdi Elkout, Osama Al Sureet, Ali Al Musrati, Ahmed Fakrounshaalah, Osama El Sharimi, Daniel Elfadli, Fadel Mansour, Omar Al Khoja, Mohamed Tubal, Ahmed Ekrawa.

Hieu Luong

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