Champions of the World Cup Lionel Messi, a worldwide famous athlete, did not participate in Monday’s lucrative friendly match between Argentina and Indonesia in Jakarta.
Argentina prevailed over Indonesia by a score of 2-0.
After 38 minutes of play, Leandro Paredes, a midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain, broke the scoreless tie by taking a stride forward and unleashing a rocket into the top corner. The goal came after the home team had defended tenaciously.
Even though Messi, the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and the newest player to join with Inter Miami, decided not to play in the game after weeks of buildup in Indonesia, the Gelora Bung Karno stadium was nevertheless filled with a rowdy crowd.
The home team, ranked 149th, was greeted by roars from the crowd of almost 60,000 people who created a sea of red jerseys.
Argentina immediately began applying pressure, dominating play with the ball while Indonesia held their own despite the onslaught for the opening thirty minutes of the match.
After Indonesian goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi and naturalized center defender Jordi Amat were both caught on the ball within their own area, Man City star Julian Alvarez had the opportunity to score two goals. However, he was unable to do so.
Before the first goal was scored, wingers Nicolas Gonzalez and Facundo Buonanotte both forced the goalkeeper of the Indonesian team to make saves.
Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper for Argentina, had his own job to do and was called upon to make a great stop low to the ground at the conclusion of the first half and then to tip a looping header over the bar as Indonesia pushed for an equalizer.
However, Argentina made their pressure pay, putting an end to any Indonesian dreams in the 55th minute when Tottenham defender Cristian Romero missed his man and thumped a header into the back of the net for Argentina.
A number of Argentina’s other first-choice regulars, such as midfielder Angel Di Maria of Juventus and defender Nicolas Otamendi of Benfica, were not available for the match in Jakarta.
In the second match against Australia, which took place a week ago in Beijing, Argentina prevailed 2-0, and Lionel Messi scored the fastest goal of his professional career in that match.
The Indonesian football association reportedly spent up to $5 million to bring Argentina to Jakarta for the first senior international encounter between the two teams. The match was the first time the two sides had competed against one other.
The Indonesian fans were excited to witness the world champions take on their national team, despite the fact that they were unable to get a sight of Argentina’s current superstar, Lionel Messi.
“If Messi came, we would be more excited,” said Fahri Satria, a 30-year-old tourist worker. “If Messi came, we would be more excited.”
“But it’s okay.”