The vice president believed that Indonesia could defeat South Korea during the match, which will take place on Friday early morning Jakarta time, as long as they perform in high spirits and play well.
"I expect that our U-23 national team will be confident and play gracefully to advance to the final stage," Amin stated after opening the 2024 National Coordination Meeting on Disaster Mitigation here, on Wednesday (April 24).
Moreover, Indonesia had impressively defeated Australia and Jordan in earlier matches, he remarked.
"Our young athletes' beautiful play, which overcame Australia, became a huge capital for them. Our team also defeated Jordan 4-1, impressive," Amin stated.
Despite Indonesia being in the 134th place in the FIFA ranking, the vice president is confident that the "Young Garuda" team can defeat South Korea, which is placed 23rd in the ranking if they maintain their performance and spirit from earlier matches.
"I believe our national team has the potential to win if they play (with equal power) as when they faced Jordan," he said.
"Because as long as the spirit and the graceful play are maintained, there is hope that Indonesia can win the match against South Korea," Amin emphasized.
He also commended the U-23 national team for advancing to the quarter-final, an unprecedented feat for Indonesia as a debutant in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.
"We have made new history by defeating Australia and Jordan. Despite such feats are commendable, we expect that (our national team) can again defeat South Korea," the vice president remarked.
"Let us pray for the Indonesia U-23 national team's victory against South Korea," he said.
If Indonesia's U-23 national team manages to defeat South Korea in the upcoming quarter-final match, they will advance to the semifinal stage. It will also bolster the prospects of the team qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
Related news: Indonesia's soccer training center being built in IKN important: FIFA
Related news: PSSI to explore cooperation with Germany
Translator: Benardy F, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
