Nova Arianto Retains His Main Squad for the U-17 World Cup, Bringing Only Four New Faces

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Exactly one week before embarking on their adventure in the U-17 World Cup 2025, PSSI announced 21 players for the Indonesian U-17 team to compete in the age-group tournament in Qatar. Indonesian U-17 coach Nova Arianto made only four changes compared to the squad list for the U-17 Asian Cup 2025 in April.

"Garuda Muda" is grouped in Group H alongside Brazil, Honduras, and Zambia. Indonesia's first match will be against Zambia on Tuesday (4/11/2025) at 22:45 WIB.

Next, Indonesia will face Brazil on Friday (7/11/2025) at 22:45 WIB. Brazil is the most successful team in the U-17 World Cup with a collection of four championship titles. In the Qatar 2025 edition, Brazil is the team with the most participations, having appeared 19 times since 1985.

The group stage for Indonesia concluded with a match against Honduras on Monday (10/11/2025) at 21:45 WIB. All matches of the U-17 World Cup group stage were held at the Aspire Zone fields in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Compared to the three opponents in Group H, Indonesia is not the team with the lowest participation quantity. The 2025 edition is the first opportunity for Garuda Muda to qualify for the U-17 World Cup 2025 through the qualifying round. Previously, Indonesia made its debut in the youngest age group competition of FIFA as the host for the 2023 edition.

Zambia is the only debuting team in Group H. Meanwhile, Honduras has made its sixth appearance. However, the CONCACAF representative has been waiting for eight years to return to compete in the U-17 World Cup since the 2017 edition.

In order to improve their performance in the 2023 edition, where they only collected two points from three matches and thus failed to advance to the knockout stage, Nova remains committed to the squad he has been developing since the beginning of the year.

A total of 17 players are members of the Indonesian team that advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup. The mainstays of Nova include I Putu Panji, Matthew Baker, Evandra Florasta, Nazriel Alfaro, Mierza Firjatullah, and Fadly Alberto.

They are strengthened by the presence of four players consisting of three diaspora and one player who graduated from the Elite Pro Academy. The three diaspora players are Mike Rajasa Hoppenbrouwers, who plays at the FC Utrecht Academy in the Netherlands, followed by Eizar Tanjung at Sydney FC (Australia), and Lucas Lee, who represents one of the best academies in the United States, Ballistic United SC.

Another player is Dimas Adi Prasetyo, who plays as a winger from PSM Makassar U-18. Dimas performed in the Elite Pro Academy U-18 season 2024-2025, with a total of six goals and three assists in 25 matches.

The announcement was made by Nova while in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to undergo final preparations before heading to Doha, Qatar, on Thursday (30/11/2025).

We played our best in the matches in Dubai, so they could serve as a learning experience for the players before appearing in the World Cup.

In Dubai, Indonesia still has two remaining test matches against Ivory Coast on October 27 and Panama on October 29. On Saturday (October 25, 2025), Evandra and his teammates suffered a defeat of 1-2 against Paraguay.

Nova stated that the final result should not be a benchmark in the last trial match before appearing in Qatar. According to him, the three exhibition games are a process for players to prepare their physical and mental conditions as well as to understand the team's game plan.

"I am grateful that all players are in good condition to undergo the friendly match that serves as our final preparation. The matches in Dubai were conducted to the fullest, providing valuable lessons for the players before appearing in the World Cup," said Nova in an official statement quoted on Monday (27/11/2025).

The three opponents in the trial match in Dubai are teams that also participated in the U-17 World Cup. In addition, the trio of friendly match teams represent different characteristics of the Garuda Muda's opponents in Group H.

"This opportunity for a friendly match is very valuable. I want to give all the players a chance so that they can gain a lot of experience before competing in the actual tournament," said Nova.

Gholy, the winger from Persija Jakarta, stated that the training camp in Dubai for about two weeks is very important for the adaptation process ahead of the U-17 World Cup 2025.

The adaptation includes the hot weather conditions in Dubai, which are similar to those in Al Rayyan, and the three opponents serve as a platform for Garuda Muda to adjust in facing the trio of rivals in the qualifying round.

"My target, along with my teammates, is to clearly understand the characteristics of our opponents in the group stage later," said Gholy, who scored two goals in the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup.

Gholy revealed that the training camp in Dubai was marked by a very organized program. The squad had well-scheduled meal times, engaged in communal worship, and held training sessions once a day to maintain their physical condition and recovery.

Randy Razzaqu (Madura United), Dafa Al Gasemi (Dewa United), Mike Rajasa Hoppenbrouwers (Utrecht)

Dafa Zaidan (Borneo FC), Ida Bagus Cahya (Bali United), I Putu Panji (Bali United), Matthew Baker (Melbourne City FC), Eizar Tanjung (Sydney FC), Lucas Lee (Ballistic United SC), Fabio Azkairawan (Persija Jakarta), Ilham Romadhona (Borneo FC), Muhammad Al Gazani (Persija Jakarta), Azizu Milanesta (Asiana Soccer School)

Evandra Florasta (Bhayangkara Precision), Muhammad Zahaby Gholy (Persija Jakarta), Nazriel Alfaro (Persib Bandung), Rafi Rasyiq (Semen Padang)

Mierza Firjatullah (Persik Kediri), Fadly Alberto (Bhayangkara Precision), Dimas Adi Prasetyo (PSM Makassar), Fandi Ahmad (Persija Jakarta)