Having passed Malaysia first, the "Young Garuda Pertiwi" faces the real challenge later.

SURAKARTA, SATURDAY — The more opportunities to play, the richer the experiences that can be gained, including the possibility of facing tough teams such as Thailand and Australia. This mindset is ingrained in the Indonesian U-16 women's football team. In order to secure more match opportunities, they are determined not to lose to Malaysia.

Indonesia and Malaysia are in a tight competition to secure a ticket to the semifinals of the 2025 ASEAN U-16 Women's Championship. The two teams will face each other in the decisive match of Group A at Manahan Stadium, Surakarta, Central Java, on Sunday (24/8/2025).

For Indonesia, the requirement to advance to the semifinals is that they must not lose to Malaysia. A win or a draw would be sufficient for them to qualify for the top four as the champions of Group A, which they share with Malaysia and Timor Leste. Meanwhile, Malaysia must secure a victory.

Indonesia is currently leading the temporary standings of Group A with three points and a goal difference of plus six, thanks to a 6-0 victory over Timor Leste. Meanwhile, Malaysia is closely following in second place after winning 6-1 against the same opponent. Malaysia has accumulated three points with a goal difference of plus five.

When asked about the targets for the 2025 ASEAN Championship, both the Indonesian coach and the Malaysian coach agreed on a larger objective. According to them, the tournament is not merely about winning and being champions, but rather about development and providing young players with the opportunity to compete on the international stage.

However, the coach of the Indonesia U-16 team, Timo Scheunemann, emphasized that their desire is to compete frequently, at least four times. This means they must advance to the semifinals to achieve that.

According to Timo, if they can play up to four times, advancing to the final or the third-place playoff, they will have the opportunity to compete against teams with a stronger track record, such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Australia.

"Because if we don't reach the semifinals, it means we only play twice. It would be a shame not to meet Thailand, Vietnam, or Australia, or other teams. That would actually be an extraordinary challenge," said Timo.

Vietnam is in Group A and currently occupies the top position in the temporary standings, as does Australia in Group C. Meanwhile, Thailand ranks third in Group C after losing 2-1 to Australia.

Only the top team in each group advances to the semifinals. There's also one ticket for the best runner-up.

We want to reach the semifinals to be able to compete against teams like that, to see how strong we are at this point.

"I aim to play four times. It's not about reaching the final or not, but playing four times. We want to reach the semifinals to compete against teams like that, to see where our strength currently stands," said Timo.

Thailand is the most successful team in this under-16 tournament. They are the champions in three editions of the tournament, namely in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Australia was the champion of the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2019. Meanwhile, Vietnam has finished in third place three times in 2009, 2018, and 2019.

Indonesia's participation in each of its three tournaments has always been stopped in the group stage. In 2019, the last edition, "Garuda Pertiwi Muda" was absent.

In 2018, during the event held in Palembang, Indonesia lost 1-4 to Thailand and succumbed 0-2 to Laos. They only managed to win once against Cambodia with a score of 2-0, thus finishing in third place. As a result, they failed to advance to the semifinals, which were available for the two best teams in the two groups.

This situation is not much different from Malaysia. In four participations in the tournament formerly known as the AFF Championship, Malaysia's journey has always been halted in the group stage.

Nevertheless, Malaysia's coach, Leila Chua Pak Ling, stated that simply being able to participate in the tournament in the 2025 edition makes them feel fortunate and grateful. This is because the tournament serves as a great platform for her players to compete on the international stage, which is at a higher level than domestic competition.

"This tournament is participated by young teams with players aged 14 to 16 years. Of course, everyone wants to win, but once again, this is a development team," said Leila.

"So, we focus on good performance, competing well as a team, fighting spirit, and giving our all on the field. And I think if we do that, the results will come naturally," he added.