LKG BRI Indonesia's Progress Stopped in the Round of 16 of the 2025 Gothia Cup

GOTHENBURG, KOMPAS - The journey of the LKG BRI Indonesia team came to a halt in the round of 16 of the Gothia Cup 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The English representative, Skouted FC, provided an important lesson for prospective national football players of Indonesia with a defeat of 1-4 at Lemmingvallen 2 Field, Gothenburg, Sweden, on Friday (18/7/2025).

The individual capabilities of Skouted players are the key to their superiority over the LKG BRI Indonesia team. The match had only been underway for two minutes when they took the lead through a shot from winger Ashton Forbes. The player wearing jersey number 16 extended his team's advantage in the 16th minute.

Then, Cristiano Soares emphasized his team's superiority before halftime in the 24th minute. The fourth goal for Skouted was scored by Alexandru Zinici through a free kick.

"Laskar Kera Sakti" scored a consolation goal in the 58th minute. The attacking midfielder and team captain, Oksal Kristian Gani, netted the goal through a penalty kick. The spot kick was awarded by the referee after Oksal was pushed by a defender from Skouted.

Although they failed to achieve their dream of bringing home the trophy, the LKG BRI Indonesia squad deserves to hold their heads high as they leave the Gothia Cup. They made it into the top 16 teams in the Boys 15 category, which was participated in by 250 teams. B15 is the category with the most participants in the 2025 Gothia Cup, marking its 50th edition.

For the Kompas League U-14 team, the journey to the final round has been better since the 2019 edition. LKG BRI Indonesia failed to repeat the best achievement of reaching the final created by the Kompas League U-14 representatives at the 2013 Gothia Cup.

The coach of LKG BRI Indonesia, Tb Wahyudiansyah, appreciates the hard work of his players who have showcased their best abilities. According to him, the quality of the opponents is truly above that of his players, both in terms of individual skills and the ability to understand tactics.

"They have fought hard. There is no need to dwell too much on it. Use the experience from the Gothia Cup as a lesson for your future careers," said Wahyu in his instructions after the match concluded.

Furthermore, Wahyu stated that his team's performance was quite good against Skouted. Conceding goals in the early minutes was the reason for the collapse of the competitive spirit of the Laskar Kera Sakti squad.

"Children were caught off guard at the beginning of the match, which caused us to lose our rhythm. As the game progressed, the performance improved, but it was not enough to catch up on the score," he stated.

Several players were seen crying after hearing the final whistle. The midfield duo, Oksal Kristian Gani and Luthfi Helmi Hanafi, sat down in the middle of the field while covering their eyes.

Other players could not hold back their tears either. The sound of crying was heard during the journey from the technical zone to outside the playing field.

What makes me sad is that I couldn't contribute to the team when they needed it most.

Three players who remained strong and did not cry, such as M Fauzan Alhadar, Abdullah Husain, and Baihaqi Haris Arina, attempted to console while carrying the bags, jerseys, and shoes of their teammates.

"We must acknowledge that the quality of our individuals and our game is below theirs. This match serves as an important lesson for us to understand what needs to be improved in order to become players who can compete at the highest level," said Fauzan, who scored two goals in the Gothia Cup 2025.

The high pressure faced by Skouted has also resulted in two players from LKG BRI Indonesia suffering from recurring injuries. The pain was experienced by two key players, namely central defender Dek Mang Pamungkas and forward M Akbar Ramadhan.

Dek Mang suffered from excruciating pain in his right shoulder. He had been experiencing a dislocated shoulder since playing for Persigawa in the 2024-2025 Kompas U-14 League Powered by BRI.

The treatment from the medical team of the Gothia Cup involved kinesio tape wrapped around Dek Mang's shoulder. He was unable to carry his backpack due to the injury.

"I'm sorry I can't help the team anymore. My shoulder hurts so bad," said Dek Mang, pointing to his right shoulder.

Akbar, who contributed seven goals in the Gothia Cup 2025, is experiencing pain in his lower back. The routine physical clashes with opponents who have a larger build are the cause. In the middle of the second half against Skouted, Akbar was already limping in pain until he was pulled off the field.

Before Dek Mang and Akbar, two players, Puma Nandhito and Radhitya Javas Nugraha, were also unable to assist the team due to suffering from respective injuries to the lower back and ankle.

"What makes me sad is that I cannot contribute to the team when they need it the most," said Puma, who could not hold back the tears streaming down both of his eyes.

Skouted's superiority came through their dominance in creating chances. The English players had 15 shots.

The brain of the attack was orchestrated by two wing forwards, Forbes and Eze Chinemerem, making it difficult for the strong defensive line of Laskar Kera Sakti to anticipate. Players had to commit fouls to stop the individual actions of both. Fauzan received a yellow card in the 32nd minute for pulling Eze.

The quantity of shots was several times greater than the average of two shots faced by Laskar Kera Sakti in the previous six matches.

The attacking line of LKG BRI Indonesia also failed to maintain an average of 18 shots per match in the Gothia Cup 2025. Only seven shots were produced by Oksal and his teammates. There were no shots from open play that posed a significant threat to the Skouted goalkeeper.