Indonesia welcome world champions Argentina to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in a friendly on Monday (June 19).
The game is part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup winners’ Asia tour, where they faced Australia in China on Thursday. Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the second minute befoer German Pezzella’s second-half strike sealed a 2-0 win.
Indonesia, meanwhile, are also playing their second game of the ongoing international window. They drew goalless to Palestine on Wednesday after winning gold at the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games, doing so for the first time since 1991.
Messi will not be travelling to Indonesia, while Angel Di María and Nicolas Otamendi will also sit this one out. Nonetheless, Lionel Scaloni’s men will look to keep their perfect record since the conclusion of the World Cup intact against their modest opponents.
Argentina
As alluded to above, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni will be without the services of their all-time leading goalscorer, Lionel Messi, for Monday’s friendly encounter against Indonesia in Jakarta, while veteran stars Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi will also sit out this one.
Scaloni may utilise Monday’s contest to give some of his peripheral stars crucial minutes. Geronimo Rulli could replace Emiliano Martinez in between the sticks, which would provide the Ajax shot-stopper with the opportunity to make a rare international appearance.
Having scored the second goal against Australia after coming in as a substitute, German Pezzella is set to start in central defence alongside Romero, flanked by the usual full-back pairing of Nahuel Molina and Medina.
Exequiel Palacios has had an excellent season with Bayer Leverkusen at club level and could be rewarded with his first start for La Albiceleste since June 2021 here, with Leandro Paredes and Giovani Lo Celso slotting in their respective slots to make a midfield three.
After making his Argentina bow against Australia, Alejandro Garnacho is in line to make his first start in an Argentina shirt. The Manchester United sensation is set to feature in the front line alongside Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos and Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez, who is coming off the back of lifting the historic treble with Pep Guardiola’s side.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Dubi; Molina, Romero, Pezzella, Medina; Palacios, Paredes, Lo Celso; Bounantte, Alvarez, Nico Gonzalez
Probable Lineup (5-4-1): Trisna; Mangkualam, Baggott, Amat, Ridho, Arhan; Sayuri, Kambuaya, Klok, Struick: Sulistyawan