Bekasi, W Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s U-23 national soccer team coach Luis Milla said here on Saturday that Alberto "Beto" Goncalves and Stefano Lilipaly are two important players on his squad, now playing in the Asian Games 2018.

"The two are important players in our team`s attack scheme," he said here on Friday evening.

The two players have been sharp during high intensity play, as proven in the last three matches at the 18th Asian Games. Beto has scored three goals, while Lilipaly has scored two, in the elimination round matches.

With a total of eight goals scored in three matches, Beto and Lilipaly have contributed 62 percent of the goals made by the national team.

Unlike Lilipaly, who played in all three matches, Beto has played in only two matches. Beto played in the match against Chinese Taipei, in which Indonesia won 4-0 on Sunday (Aug 12), and against Laos on Friday (Aug 15), when he scored two out of three goals during his team`s victory.

Luis Milla said it would be difficult to field both players together throughout all the matches, due to the tight schedule.

He noted that it was no problem for Lilipaly, who is still 28 years old, but more difficult for Beto, who is 37 years old.

"We must look after Beto, so that he will always be fit to play. We must know how to exert his best capabilities. If he plays fully today, it will be impossible to field him in a match held two days later, for example. That was why I did not field him on Wednesday (Aug 15) against Palestine, so that he could play against Laos," Milla said.

For Lilipaly has often been ordered to not run too much. "During the match against Laos, I did it so that he could save his energy for the match against Hong Kong," he said, adding that he hoped Beto and Lilipaly would remain fit to be fielded in the upcoming matches.

Reporting by Michael Siahaan

Editing by Yosheph Hariyadi

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
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