Celebrations as Indonesia wins the gold medal in the SEA Games football competition after beating arch-rival Thailand 5-2 in a dramatic final match at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh on Tuesday evening to end a wait of more than three decades, according to reporting from Jakarta Globe.
The last time the Indonesian football team won the SEA Games gold medal was in Manila in 1991 also against Thailand.
The match had to go to extra time in a game that saw a total of seven red cards; three for Thai players, two for Thai staff members, one for an Indonesian player, and one for an Indonesian staff member.
The win adds just one more medal to Indonesia’s tally but winning a regional football competition means a lot for the football-loving nation with a population of more than 273-million.
It also came after the country lost its rights to host the U-20 World Cup in the last minute before what supposedly was Indonesia’s first-ever FIFA tournament begins this month. FIFA canceled the Indonesian edition due to opposition from local politicians to Israel’s participation, say Jakarta Globe.
Indonesia’s senior team has never won another regional football competition, the ASEAN Football Federation Cup, despite reaching the final for a record six times.
Source: Jakarta Globe
