Indonesia national football team

Indonesia national football team

The Indonesia national football team represents Indonesia in international football; it is controlled by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). Despite football being one of the nation's favourite sports, Indonesia is not among the strongest teams in the AFC. However, in history they are considered as one of the strong teams in Southeast Asia. Prior to independence in 1945, the team competed as the Dutch East Indies national football team.

History

The early matches involving sides from the Dutch East Indies were organised by the Nederlandsch Indische Voetbal Bond (NIVB) or its successor, the Nederlandsch Indische Voetbal Unie (NIVU). The matches prior to independence in 1945 are not recognised by PSSI (the Football Association of Indonesia).

The first recorded football match involving a side from the Dutch East Indies was against a side from Singapore on March 28, 1921. The match was played in Batavia and was won 1–0. This was followed by matches against an Australian XI in August 1928 (won 2–1) and a team from Shanghai two years later (4–4).

In 1934, a team from Java represented the Dutch East Indies in the Far Eastern Games played in Manila, Philippines. Despite defeating Japan 7–1 in their first match, the next two matches ended in defeats (2–0 to China and 3–2 to the host nation) resulting in a second-place finish in the tournament for the Javan team. Although not recognized by PSSI, these matches are treated as the first matches involving the Indonesian national side by the World Football Elo ratings.

Source : Wikipedia.com