Defense Addiction and Nova Arianto's Measured "Gameplan"

The Indonesian U-17 team was indeed outmatched in all aspects of attacking play and ball possession resilience by South Korea in the first match of Group C of the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup, Thursday (4/4/2025), at Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, the three points secured by the "Young Garuda" were more than just a matter of luck.

During the match that lasted approximately 105 minutes, the players of Indonesia's youth squad managed to maintain ball possession for no more than 35 minutes. This possession duration was significantly disproportionate compared to South Korea, which controlled the ball for nearly 70 minutes.

The lack of ball possession was also caused by South Korea's pressing style of play, which did not allow Indonesian players any "breathing room" to comfortably handle the ball. This condition caused the Garuda Muda squad to easily lose possession before reaching the final third of the field.

Indonesia's pass accuracy record is only 75 percent. In contrast, the players of the "Taegeuk Troops", South Korea's nickname, are above 85 percent.

Regardless of limited ball possession and passing accuracy, Indonesian players demonstrated maturity in defensive play. The three central defenders, consisting of Muhamad Al Gazani, Putu Panji, and Mathew Baker, performed with great composure even after witnessing South Korean players take a shot just 50 seconds into the match.

They appeared as if savoring the addiction to survival. None of the three showed panic in facing the relentless onslaught from South Korea, coached by Coach Baek Ki-tae.

Although South Korea was able to regain possession in the final third of Indonesia's defense on most occasions, the Garuda Muda players did not lose focus one bit. The chemistry of the three made the South Korean players frustrated because they failed many times.

In the first half, South Korea managed to take nine shots, two of which forced Indonesia's goalkeeper, Dafa Al Gasemi, to make saves. After the break, the accuracy of South Korea's 12 shots dropped significantly.

They only produced one shot on target. This was executed by midfielder Jin Geon-yong through a low strike that Dafa managed to deflect. In addition, five other shots by South Korean players were blocked by Indonesian defenders.

Indonesia only produced five shots in the first game, resulting in two shots on target. The two shots on target were created by midfielder Evandra Florasta, through a penalty execution in the 90+2 minute. Her penalty shot was saved by South Korean goalkeeper Park Do-hun, but Evandra avenged her failure by winning the second ball to shake the South Korean goal.

Overall, Indonesia was only able to create five instances of ball possession inside South Korea's penalty box. Even so, the Garuda Muda managed to produce two golden opportunities. Aside from Evandra's penalty, Indonesia's first golden opportunity came from the forward, Mierza Fijatullah, in the 14th minute.

However, the player who led Asiana to win the 2023-2024 Kompas U-14 League failed to maximize his best chance. Park caught the ball before Mierza took a shot.

In addition to defending in open play, Indonesia's defense was also able to win 100 percent of the duels when facing seven corner kicks from South Korea. In fact, in terms of body posture, South Korea is absolutely superior to Garuda Muda.

Evandra (goal scorer) played quite well. But, I saw all the players performed amazingly.

Of the 23 players brought to the 2025 U-17 World Cup, the Taegeuk Troops recorded an average of 180.61 centimeters (cm). Only Iran (182.17) has a taller squad than the other 15 contestants.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is the second shortest team in Saudi Arabia 2025. Zahaby Gholy and his friends only have an average height of 173.13 meters. As an illustration, Nova does not have a single outfield player (non-goalkeeper) who is 180 cm tall. Meanwhile, South Korea has played six players over 180 cm tall since the kick-off.

Indonesia has understood the in-swing corner kick style or directing the ball close to the goal and targeting the near post of South Korea. Two to three Indonesian players are on standby at the near post. Then, when the ball is released to the far post, Dafa will try to do an aerial duel.

That flawless defensive performance helped Indonesia remain unconceded in four consecutive official matches. The other three matches were in the 2025 Asian Cup qualifying round last year.

Nova praised the collective performance of his team. According to Nova, all the players who competed gave their best performance.

"Evandra (goal scorer) played quite well. But, I saw all the players performed extraordinarily," said Nova.

Nova, who was a former defender for the Indonesian national team in the early 2000s, passed on his experience to the Garuda players. Not only did they perform well, Indonesia's defensive play was also flawless. This can be seen from the fact that no yellow cards were received by the Garuda Muda players, even though South Korea was under pressure for the majority of the match.

Evandra and his friends already understand the situation they will face when facing South Korea who likes to attack. On the other hand, Nova prepares a standard attack pattern to give a surprise to the owner of two U-17 Asian Cup titles.

Indonesia's secret weapon comes from deadly long-range throws. In the two rounds of the first game, Garuda Muda got two long-range throws in each round.

Like when watching the Indonesian national team still coached by South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong, three center backs would advance to the opponent's penalty box to welcome the long-range throw-in. The penalty given by Chinese referee Jin Jingyuan came from a long-range throw-in. Then, Mathew's flick hit the hand of South Korean defender So Yoon-woo.

Indonesia also had several opportunities to try to make a quick counterattack. Positive transitions were initiated by wing attackers Fadly Alberto and Zahaby Gholy in the first half. In the second half, Gholy's place was replaced by his colleague from the Persija Jakarta Elite Pro Academy team, Fandi Ahmad.

The wingers relied on individual action and quick one-two passes to break down the South Korean defense. The lack of support from the midfield made the open attacking pattern easy for the Taegeuk Troops to anticipate.

"We played well, but there are still many things we need to improve. We have two days to improve ourselves to perform better in the next game (against Yemen)," Evandra told AFC Media.

Nova reminded his players that their fight to win a ticket to the 2025 U-17 World Cup has just begun. He does not want the Indonesian U-17 players to be complacent with their first victory over South Korea in the U-17 Asian Cup.

"Players should not be complacent because there are still two more matches. I will prepare the team to continue the positive performance against Yemen," said Nova.

In another match, Yemen defeated Afghanistan 2-0. With that situation, the winner of the match between Indonesia and Yemen, Monday (7/4/2025), will ensure a step to the quarter-finals and ensure participation in the 2025 U-17 World Cup in Qatar, next November.