How is the journey of the Indonesian National Team at the 2023 U-23 AFF in Thailand?
The 2023 U-23 AFF Cup in Thailand was quite surprising for the U-23 Indonesian National Team, where in the first meeting against Malaysia, Indonesia had to suffer a 1-2 defeat. Indonesia did manage to score a goal through Ramadhan Sananta but the opponent’s game in the second half started to be aggressive. and Malaysia was awarded a penalty, after which a counter-attack from Malaysia was able to produce a goal through Fergus Tierney. A player of European descent who strengthened Malaysia.
1-0 win over Timor Leste
Therefore, in the next match, on August 20, 2023, Indonesia should be able to win the match against Timor Leste, and Alhamdulillah, Indonesia managed to beat Timor Leste with a score of 1-0 with a goal scored by Ramadhan Sananta. Indonesia’s qualifying position is still waiting for the results of another match where a few days later the Philippines and Cambodia were defeated by their opponents such as Vietnam and Thailand, so Indonesia managed to qualify as the best runner-up in the semifinals, Indonesia had to face a very effective host game, namely Thailand.
Win 3-1 Against Thailand
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Indonesia’s second goal from Muhammad Ferrari |
Indonesia was belittled by several media when it faced Thailand and it was expected that they could not beat Thailand, but the results were unexpected, playing at the Rayong Stadium on August 24, 2023, the U23 Indonesian national team managed to beat Thailand with a fairly crushing score. Indonesia’s first goal was scored by a winger from Persik Kediri named Jeom Kelly Sroyer, Sroyer got the ball on the left side of the Thai defense and then kicked it hard into the Thai goal. Furthermore, a headed goal from Ferrari made Indonesia’s score increase, and finally, an own goal was scored by opposing defender Natcha Promsomboon when anticipating a cross from Beckham.
Lost on Penalties 6-5 Against Vietnam
When advancing to the final, Indonesia had to face Vietnam’s game. Indonesia’s final match against Vietnam AFF u-23 in Bangkok was led by a referee who was not able to act fairly on the field, Hiroki Kasahara, a referee from Japan. where Vietnam was awarded a penalty while Indonesia should also have received a penalty but it was not obtained when an Indonesian player’s shot hit the opponent’s defender’s hand, and handball occurred in the Vietnam penalty box but the referee did not give a penalty kick to Indonesia, this shows the referee was one-sided in leading the final match.
Several of Indonesia’s opportunities were successfully broken by the Vietnamese goalkeeper, such as a kick from Dewangga which hit the left corner of the Thailand goal, Ramadan’s hard kick which hit the Vietnam crossbar, and Ferrari’s header which was still far from Thailand’s main goal.
Vietnam also created several opportunities that threatened Indonesia, such as a penalty shot in the first half that could be anticipated by the Indonesian national team goalkeeper, Ernando. Several counterattacks from Vietnam were also dangerous but the Indonesian national team goalkeeper was able to save them.
120 minutes of playing time, no goals were scored until it had to be settled via penalties. How many kickers from the Indonesian national team were able to score goals, Ernando’s last game was a failed in shooting the ball at goal. So the final score was 6-5 for Vietnam to win, and Vietnam finally won the 2023 U-23 AFF in Thailand.
