Bandung, West Java (ANTARA) - Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Chief Mochamad Iriawan expressed hope that football matches between the Indonesian national football team and its Curacao counterpart would elevate the national team's FIFA ranking.
Curacao, ranked 84th in the FIFA ranking, is a good match for the Garuda Squad, he noted, adding that the 23 national team players had undergone intensive training in Bandung, West Java, for the friendly matches.
"We hope they would perform their best to elevate our FIFA ranking, as our current ranking is 155th, rising from our previous position in the 179th. If we win the match, FIFA will calculate our victory, and our rank will improve again," Iriawan stated while observing the national football team training at the Sidolig Field here, Thursday.
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The PSSI chief called on the national team to compete with national teams ranked way higher, as matches with better teams will add to its experience.
"The matches will give us more experience. (The Curacao team) has shown good performance, and some of their players are now playing in Europe," he stated.
He explained that the decision to organize the matches in Bandung and Bogor, both in West Java, was taken due to the two cities' proximity to Jakarta, thereby allowing easier access to the team located away.
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The football federation chief is also sanguine about supporters uniting to support the national team in matches against Curacao.
"Thus, there will be no supporters of A club or B club because we are all the Garuda Squad. Let us give them our best support," Iriawan remarked.
The Indonesian national football team will play two friendly matches against the Curacao team on Saturday (September 24) at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium and next Tuesday (September 27) at the Pakansari Stadium, Bogor.
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