JAKARTA (26 July 2014) – The Indonesian Under-23 team completed their tour of Italy without picking up a single win when they fell to a 2-0 loss to Cagliari in their third and friendly match this week.
The team – which is being prepared for the ASIAN Games in South Korea this year – had opened their campaign in Italy with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of AS Roma before losing 2-0 to Lazio in their second friendly.
It was basically the same script against Cagliari at the Sappada Belluno, where despite piling on the pressure, the young Indonesian side just could not break through the final third.
In the closing stages of the first half, Indonesia conceded an own goal when a stumbling clearance from Syaiful Indra Cahya saw the ball floating into goal that was kept by Teguh Amirudin.
Samuel Longo then scored the second goal for Cagliari in the 75th minute to give the Indonesian youngsters some valuable lessons ahead of their Incheon test.
“They showed a lot of progress and they were even able to press their opponents in their own goal. They created a handful of chances with the short passes which was very important as it showed their confidence,” said Indonesian coach Aji Santoso.
“These matches in Italy are so very important as it contributes to the players’ evolution as a team.”
