Indonesian U-17 Team's Endurance Raises Hopes for Achievement in Asia

The Indonesian U-17 team is like an anomaly among teams in the history of PSSI's participation in international tournaments since the 1950s. Three victories that underscored the flawless performance of the "Young Garuda" in the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup were achieved through goals scored in the final moments of the matches.

Physical endurance issues have always been a traditional obstacle for Indonesia in competing at the international level. Indonesian players generally can only sustain their performance for one hour, or 60 minutes.

However, the issue was gradually addressed by the coach of the Indonesian national team for the 2020-2024 period, Shin Tae-yong. Physical training has always been the primary focus emphasized by Shin for Indonesian players before moving on to tactics and formations.

I am very grateful for the hard work of all the players. The players were able to maintain their focus until the final minute, and they managed to score a goal at the end of the match.

The training style was continued by the Coach of the Indonesian U-17 Team, Nova Arianto. Apart from training the players' basic techniques, such as first touch, passing accuracy, and final decision-making, Nova was very strict in managing the physical condition of his players.

Since starting team selection in March 2024, Nova has required her trainees to do morning runs for nearly two hours after performing the dawn prayer. After that, they proceed to training on the green field.

In addition, Nova, assisted by physical trainer Sofie Imam Faizal, also worked on increasing the muscle mass of all players. Training at the fitness center helped the players develop a more robust physique, thereby improving their balance.

The very intense training menu paid off in the three preliminary round matches of the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup. Five of the seven goals scored by the Garuda Muda squad were scored after the match passed the 87th minute.

The physical toughness was already on display when they defeated South Korea 1-0 in the first match. The flawless defensive organization performance cannot only be based on optimal technical ability and tactical execution.

Players must also be in very good physical condition. Because, playing defense is much harder and makes players tired faster than attacking schemes with ball control.

Players must maintain high focus to organize the defense. Then, they need to move with effective positioning so that the opponent does not get a gap and think quickly to make decisions when they can take the ball from the opponent.

Indonesia was able to defend well to hold South Korea, so they were able to steal a goal through Evandra Florasta in the 90+2 minute. In the second match against Yemen, the situation was almost similar for Nova's team.

Indonesia was able to take an early lead when the match was under half an hour old, but after that the Indonesian defense was attacked. Despite the mistake that led to Yemen getting a penalty early in the second half, Indonesia appeared solid after that.

When the match had been going on for more than 85 minutes, Garuda Muda's physical endurance and fighting spirit resulted in two goals that sealed a 4-1 victory thanks to Evandra's brace.

Two goals in the second half's added time also ensured Indonesia's 2-0 victory over Afghanistan in the final game of Group C, Friday (11/4/2025) early morning WIB, at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Fadly Alberto and Zahaby Gholy scored the goals just 94 seconds apart.

The two goals were created with the same scheme through the fast-break tactic, aka a quick counter-attack. In the two goals, Indonesia only needed an average of nine seconds from taking the ball from the Afghan player until the ball crossed the goal line.

The last two games against Yemen and Afghanistan further emphasized the physical resilience of the Young Garuda which was still stable in three consecutive matches. They took advantage of the drastic decline of their opponents which caused the game organization to deteriorate and focus to decrease significantly.

"I am very grateful for the hard work of all the players. We had expected Afghanistan to play freely because they had no more targets. However, the players were able to maintain their focus until the last minute and they were able to score a goal at the end of the match," said Nova after the match.

Indonesia's success in performing consistently for more than 90 minutes was also influenced by Nova's substitution strategy. Nova always made two substitutions before the second half began. In the match against Afghanistan, he made three substitutions after halftime.

Garuda Muda needs a more prime attacking player to maintain the consistency of fast counterattacks. In the last two games of Group C, the substitutes played a big role in Indonesia's two goals at the end of the match.

In the game against Yemen, two substitutes, Rafi Rasyiq and Josh Holong, helped Evandra score a pair of goals. Evandra's second goal collection in the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup began with a foul by the Yemeni goalkeeper on Rafi which resulted in a penalty.

Then, Josh served Evandra with an accurate cross that started the third goal. Indeed, the Bhayangkara Presisi player did not score directly from Josh's assist, but Josh's decision to pass to Evandra who was unmarked deserves appreciation.

Three substitutes, Aldiansyah Taher, Fadly, and Gholy, were the intellectual actors for the two goals against Afghanistan. Aldyansyah provided assists for the two goals through his movement on the right side of Afghanistan's defense which ended with an accurate cross.

"I am happy that all the players always show their best performance when they are fielded. That can help us to continue the match in the next round," said Nova who is known as the legendary defender of Persib Bandung.

Furthermore, Nova said that his team had three very important matches to improve their performance individually and collectively. The three opponents in Group C, he added, had different characters that helped his team learn to adapt to different opponent characters.

"I don't want the players to think that we have qualified for the World Cup and won Group C. I ask them to stay focused on facing each match in the knockout phase," he said.

Rafi, to AFC Media, ensured that the achievements that have been written in Group C do not affect the focus of the Indonesian team. According to him, preparations for facing the quarter-finals will still be carried out optimally in order to maintain the tradition of victory in Saudi Arabia 2025.

"We will give our best to prepare ourselves for the next match. We will continue to fight for everyone who supports us," said Rafi who defends the Semen Padang youth team.

Hopefully, Garuda Muda's optimal endurance can help them fly towards the highest podium in Saudi Arabia 2025. No doubt, they are Indonesia's best chance to write a gold medal in the official Asian tournament.