Against Uzbekistan, Garuda Muda's Mission Impossible

SHENZHEN, SATURDAY — The Indonesia U-20 team must defeat Uzbekistan in the second game of Group C of the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup, Sunday (16/2/2025) at 19.30 WIB, at the Shenzhen Youth Football Training Center Stadium, China. However, referring to the head-to-head record and performance in the first match, the "Young Garuda" faces an impossible mission to achieve a positive result.

Indonesia began its adventure in China with a 0-3 defeat against Iran, Thursday (13/2/2025). Jens Raven and his team were outmatched in every aspect by Iran, which collected four U-20 Asian Cup trophies in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan bagged a crucial 1-0 win over Yemen. Despite their dominant display, Uzbekistan failed to break down Yemen's solid defense.

Undoubtedly, three points against Uzbekistan will open up Indonesia's chances to advance to the knockout phase and avoid early elimination in the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup. Even a draw could see Indonesia exit the competition, if Iran manages to defeat Yemen in the other game.

In addition to the uneven results in the first game, Indonesia has also never defeated Uzbekistan in the U-20 Asian Cup. Indonesia U-20 coach Indra Sjafri once experienced the dominance of the former Soviet Union country in the 2014 U-20 Asian Cup.

Coming with a potentially golden generation squad of Indonesia featuring Evan Dimas, Indra and his team had to acknowledge the superiority of Uzbekistan with a score of 1-3. Indonesia was only able to score a consolation goal through a shot by midfielder, Paulo Sitanggang.

Then, at the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup, Indonesia, coached by Shin Tae-yong, held Uzbekistan to a goalless draw in the group stage. The Young Garuda was the only team able to avoid defeat against Uzbekistan, who went on to become the champion.

Indra stated that the two-day recovery and preparation period was maximized to achieve a positive result against Uzbekistan. In addition to the physical recovery of the players, Indra also sought to improve the mental aspect of his team after their defeat by Iran.

"The 20-hour recovery helped the players recover physically and mentally. We have also undergone training in preparation for facing Uzbekistan," said Indra.

"Alhamdulillah, the players are ready. God willing, tomorrow (Sunday) we can achieve positive results," he added.

One thing that the Garuda Muda squad needs to pay attention to is the ability to anticipate aerial balls that originate from open play crosses or dead balls.

Indonesia's chances of winning will be open if the defenders can win more aerial duels and reduce the chances of Uzbekistan players releasing crosses into the penalty box.

Because, in the game against Iran, Indonesia conceded three goals that started from crosses. In total, Iran produced seven shots through headers from 10 shots they produced in the Indonesian penalty box.

Meanwhile, when facing Yemen, 50 percent of Uzbekistan's shots inside Yemen's 16-meter box also came from headers. Uzbekistan's only goal in the first match was contributed by striker Muhammadali Urinbaev through a well-directed header.

Urinbaev had two headers on target from Uzbekistan's eight headers in the Yemen penalty area, despite not being a towering striker.

He is only 1.7 meters tall, but is equipped with extraordinary positioning and calf muscle strength which helps him to jump with good balance.

Ikram Algiffari, Indonesia's goalkeeper, is determined to perform better in the second game. Indonesia clearly needs Ikram's heroic performance. In the first game, Ikram only made one save.

"The match against Uzbekistan is very important for our ambition to qualify for the knockout phase. We have conducted an evaluation to fix the shortcomings in order to perform better and pursue victory against Uzbekistan," said Ikram, who is a Semen Padang player.

In addition, Indonesia's attacking game must also be much better. One thing that the Garuda Muda squad must improve is the accuracy of long-range shots.

Similar to Iran, Indonesia also has the potential to have difficulty breaking down Uzbekistan's defense, which is more aggressive. As an illustration, Yemen produced 11 shots outside the penalty box from the 15 shots they produced in Uzbekistan's defense zone.

Indonesia also fired seven shots outside the penalty box. Only four shots were produced by Indra's team from inside the final 16-meter area of Iran's defense. The quantity of shots shows the poor creation of opportunities for Indonesia.

In addition, Indonesian midfielders, such as Toni Firmansyah and Welber Jardim, must also play better in distributing progressive passes. Against Iran, Indonesian players only recorded eight touches in the opponent's penalty box. No wonder, Indonesia failed to produce big chances in the first game.

Indonesia's pass accuracy in Iran's final third of defense also only reached 57 percent. That percentage is very disparate with Iran's 70 percent pass accuracy rate in Indonesia's final third of defense. Uzbekistan also collected a high percentage for pass accuracy in Yemen's final third of the defensive zone, precisely 65 percent.