Indonesia Advances to the Semifinals of the ASEAN U-23 Championship After Held to a Draw by Malaysia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The hopes of the Indonesian football team to win the ASEAN U-23 Championship remain alive following their successful advancement to the semifinals. Although they qualified for the semifinals, the 0-0 draw with Malaysia in the final group stage match left the "Garuda Muda" players only half happy. They felt they should have secured full points, especially after dominating the match throughout.

"I am very grateful to God who has helped us. I am happy to have advanced to the semifinals, but a bit disappointed because we could not win against Malaysia. However, please continue to support us so that we can win in the semifinals," said Kadek Arel, captain of the U-23 Indonesia team, after the match at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on Monday (21/7/2025) evening.

The expression of joy and disappointment in one breath from Kadek illustrates how the victory against Malaysia, Indonesia's eternal rival, is equally important as advancing to the semifinals. With this draw, Indonesia indeed performed flawlessly, remaining unbeaten throughout the group stage. From three matches, the "Garuda Muda" team achieved two victories and one draw without conceding a single goal.

A draw would have been sufficient to take Indonesia to the semifinals. However, the desire to defeat their eternal rivals motivated the Indonesian players to press forward from the start of the match. The team, coached by Gerald Vanenburg, did not want to advance to the semifinals relying on a cautious approach against Malaysia.

The top scorer of the ASEAN U-23 Championship, Jens Raven, is trusted by Vanenburg to start from the beginning. He plays as a central striker flanked by Rahmat Arjuna and Victor Dethan on the wings in a 4-3-3 formation.

Unlike the previous two matches, Indonesia this time built more attacks by releasing long passes from the defensive area. The scheme of building attacks from the back, aimed at drawing Malaysian players forward and leaving space between the defenders and the goalkeeper, was relatively unused in the first half.

Long passes are not very effective in breaking through Malaysia's tight defense. The strategy of releasing long passes is less appropriate when Malaysia does not apply a pressing game with a high defensive line. As a result, many long balls do not reach their target, causing the ball to more frequently end up at the feet of Malaysian players.

Although relying on long passes, the "Garuda Muda" still managed to dominate ball possession. In the second half, the effort to build attacks through long passes began to decrease, shifting to short passes from foot to foot. This method proved quite effective in keeping the Malaysian defense busy. However, Indonesia's attacking efforts often encountered dead ends in the final third of the field.

The absence of Arkhan Fikri as a playmaker and strong midfielder when in possession of the ball significantly affected the maturity of Indonesia's attacks. As a result, Indonesia's assaults were more dangerous when initiated from the flanks. One golden opportunity came from Ravan, who received a pass from Achmad Maulana maneuvering on the right wing. However, Ravan's flick was still thwarted by the Malaysian goalkeeper, Zulhilmi Sharani.

We tried everything. We created some good chances but couldn't score. - Gerald Vanenburg

In contrast to the attacking maneuvers from the wings, the combination passing efforts in the midfield by the Indonesian players were not very evident in this match. The Indonesian players were less willing to take risks by delivering progressive passes due to the Malaysian defenders crowding the midfield area.

Indonesia's inability to score goals is also influenced by incorrect and delayed decision-making from the forwards and midfielders. Vanenburg needs to address this weakness promptly before the semifinals.

"We have tried everything. We created several good opportunities but could not score. I am satisfied with the players' performance," said Vanenburg.

"It is difficult to play in the final third, although we only had three days to prepare the team (to face Malaysia). However, we will strive to perform better in the next match," he stated.

Meanwhile, for Malaysia, the draw with Indonesia officially ends their campaign in the ASEAN U-23 Championship. The "Harimau Muda" team was only able to collect four points from three matches.

The second place in Group A was ultimately occupied by the Philippines, which defeated Brunei Darussalam 2-0 in another match. The victory over Brunei brought the Philippines' points total to six.

Indonesia must wait for the results of the Group B and C matches to determine its potential opponent in the semifinals. Thailand, which is likely to emerge as the champion of Group C, is a strong candidate to face Indonesia. However, if the Philippines fails to qualify for the semifinals through the best second-placed teams, Indonesia will face Myanmar or Cambodia.