Indonesia vs Argentina prediction: WORLD: Friendly International betting tips on match 2023-06-18 12:30.
Shin Tae-yong has urged his Indonesia players to “get the most out of” their clash with Argentina as they continue their preparations for next year’s delayed Asian Cup. The Red and Whites will face the world champions for the first time in a friendly in Jakarta, and despite admitting it won’t be an “easy” game, the head coach insists his side can give a good account of themselves.
Indonesia will surely need to be more potent in front of goal if they are to pull off a shock, having drawn a blank in a 0-0 stalemate with Palestine on Wednesday. That result did at least extend a strong run of form to just one defeat from their last dozen matches across all competitions (W7, D4), although they have only beaten one nation, Curaçao, ranked inside FIFA’s top 100 during that time.
If it comes as any comfort to the hosts, Argentina will perhaps be resting several of their star players, including Lionel Messi, whose goal after just 79 seconds – the fastest of his career – helped them beat Australia in a friendly on Thursday. Manager Lionel Scaloni is quite happy to rotate his players though, having stated that “the idea is to be able to give minutes to the boys.”
Even without a number of first-team regulars, La Albiceleste are firm favourites to extend their impressive nine game winning streak, which includes lifting the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in December. They are also looking to notch up a 16th friendly without defeat, after making it 12 wins and three draws over the last four years by beating the Socceroos.
Key battle: Indonesia defender Pratama Arhan is unbeaten in his last nine international friendlies (W6, D3), with seven of those matches witnessing at least three goals. Looking to break that record may be Alexis Mac Allister, who has still never lost when representing Argentina (W15, D2), with his side netting at least twice in each of those victories.
Hot stat: Argentina have scored 15 first-half goals across their last seven friendly fixtures.