Leandro Paredes, a midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain, scored the game’s first goal after 38 minutes. He moved ahead and fired a rocket into the top corner following the home team’s resolute defending.
Jakarta: Argentina, the World Cup champions, defeated Indonesia 2-0 in a lucrative friendly on Monday without international superstar Lionel Messi.
Leandro Paredes, a midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain, scored the game’s first goal after 38 minutes. He moved ahead and fired a rocket into the top corner following the home team’s resolute defending According to Sport star
A boisterous crowd filled the Gelora Bung Karno stadium despite Messi, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and new Inter Miami acquisition, pulling out of the match following weeks of anticipation in Indonesia.
A sea of red shirts made up of more than 60,000 spectators cheered on the 149th-ranked local team.
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From the opening kickoff, Argentina put pressure on Indonesia while controlling the game for the first 30 minutes.
After Indonesian goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi and naturalized center back Jordi Amat were both caught on the ball in their own box, Man City star Julian Alvarez had the opportunity to score twice.
Before the first goal, the wingers Nicolas Gonzalez and Facundo Buonanotte forced saves from the Indonesian goalkeeper.
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As Indonesia pushed for an equalizer, Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had his own work cut out for him. He made a deft low stop at the conclusion of the first half before tipping a looping header over the bar.
When Tottenham defender Cristian Romero missed his man to wallop home a header after 55 minutes, Argentina made their pressure count and dashed any dreams Indonesia had.
In Jakarta, Argentina was absent a number of other first-team regulars, notably Benfica defender Nicolas Otamendi and Juventus midfielder Angel Di Maria.
They beat Australia in another friendly in Beijing last week, with Messi scoring the quickest goal of his career in a 2-0 win.
Bringing Argentina to Jakarta for the first senior international match between the two sides cost the Indonesian football association as much as $5 million, according to local media.
Indonesians did not get a glimpse of Argentina’s modern-day superstar Messi but they were happy to see the world champions play their hometown heroes.
“If Messi came, we would be more excited,” said Fahri Satria, a 30-year-old tourism worker.
“But it’s okay.”
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