Focus on China, Thohir tells national football team after Bahrain draw

Chairperson of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), Erick Thohir, has asked the national team to move on and focus on preparing for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier match against China after its draw against Bahrain.

The Indonesian team gained only one point from its match against Bahrain in Riffa on Thursday evening (October 10, 2024). Bahrain's Mohamad Mahroon scored the equalizing goal in the 99th minute, resulting in a final score of 2-2.

"Our chance of clinching the first victory slipped away in the injury time. I would like to ask everybody in the team including the players, coaching staff, and officials to focus on the match against China," he said in a statement released here on Friday.

He noted that football can be unpredictable since many factors decide the result.

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"We have to prove that we can gain more points on our opponent's ground. I would also like to encourage supporters to continue supporting our national team players, steeling their mentality," he added.

He then emphasized the importance of the team making the utmost preparations to anticipate weather factors and ensure players' physical recovery to achieve the best result against China, which is yet to gain a single point after three matches.

"The match against Bahrain has sparked plenty of opinions. Nevertheless, I hope all the players and the coaching team have already moved on to formulate a better strategy to face China in the next four days," Thohir said.

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Team Indonesia demonstrated an impressive display in Thursday's game, which was refereed by Oman's Ahmed Al Kahf.

The team managed to strike a "comeback" owing to goals scored by Ragnar Oratmangoen and Rafael Struickafter conceding a goal from Bahrain's Marhoon.

Unfortunately, Indonesia's 2-1 lead did not last until the final whistle, as Marhoon succeeded in scoring his second goal just seconds before the referee blew the long whistle in the overly extended injury time.

The Indonesian team will take on China at Qingdao National Stadium, Shandong, on Tuesday (October 15, 2024).