Indonesia's Achievements in the U-20 Asian Cup, from Champion to Dream 2025

The Indonesia U-20 national team is already in China. These junior national team players will compete in the U-20 Asian Cup football championship, which will be held from February 12 to March 1, 2025, in China. The Indonesia national team is in Group C of the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup along with Uzbekistan, Iran, and Yemen.

The "Garuda Muda" team will compete with other top Asian national teams to vie for a ticket to the U-20 World Cup. Indonesia is scheduled to play against Iran on Thursday (13/2/2025).

The U-20 Asian Cup is a junior championship held as an effort to regenerate football players in the Asian continent. Previously, this championship was also known as the Asian Youth Football Tournament or the Asia Youth Championship. This championship is held every two years.

This competition was first held in Malaysia in 1959. Up until the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup, this competition for young players in Asia has been held 42 times. South Korea has become the most successful country in this tournament, winning 12 championship titles from all their participations.

Indonesia has a record of experience in this tournament. Since the competition was first held in 1959, Indonesia has participated 19 times. Indonesia has even hosted the event twice, in 1990 and 2018.

From 19 participations, the "Garuda Muda" team has a quite impressive record of achievements. Indonesia has reached the finals three times and won one of them. This record of achievements is far better compared to other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

The best achievement was reached by Indonesia in 1961 in Thailand. At that time, Indonesia managed to reach the final round to face Burma, now known as Myanmar. The match ended with a score of 0-0.

Until the extra time, both teams remained tied. Indonesia and Myanmar were then declared joint champions because at that time there was no provision to continue the match to a penalty shootout to determine the winner.

Indonesia again managed to reach the final in 1967. At that time, the “Garuda Muda” team competed again in Thailand which was appointed as the host. The 1967 championship felt special, considering that since 1962, Indonesia had withdrawn from the Asian Junior Championship.

This cannot be separated from Indonesia's foreign policy. The confrontation with Malaysia had an impact on Indonesia's decision not to participate in this championship until 1966. According to the Kompas daily archive, in January 1967, Indonesia re-confirmed itself to participate in this tournament.

In the 1967 championship, Indonesia was in a group with South Vietnam, Hong Kong, and South Korea. South Korea was one of the favorite teams in this competition at that time. In addition, the 1967 championship was also attended by several other countries such as Burma, Singapore, Japan and Sri Lanka. Middle Eastern countries have not participated in this tournament.

In the group stage, Indonesia managed to win when facing Hong Kong with a score of 4-2. In the next match, when facing South Korea, the "Garuda Muda" team or what was then called the junior PSSI won with a convincing score of 3-0. The two wins made Indonesia secure their place in the quarter-finals. Indonesia closed the last match in the group stage by holding South Vietnam to a draw.

In the last eight, Indonesia appeared mighty when they silenced India with a score of 6-2. Indonesia continued to advance to the final round after defeating Singapore with three goals without reply. However, Indonesia lost to Israel in the final round with a score of 3-0. Indonesia had to be satisfied with being the runner-up of the 1967 Asian Junior Championship.

Similar achievements were made again at the 1970 Asian Junior Championship in the Philippines. Indonesia, which was in Group D with Burma, South Vietnam, and Taiwan, performed very convincingly in the group stage. Indonesia managed to win with a score of 1-0 in each match. This result brought Indonesia through to the quarter-finals with the status of group champion.

In the quarter-finals, Indonesia successfully silenced Laos with a score of 3-1. Indonesia again made a surprise by defeating the top team South Korea with a score of 1-0 in the semifinals. In the final match, the junior PSSI team had to admit Burma's superiority with a score of 3-0. With this result, Indonesia again failed to become the champion of the junior football competition in the Asian Continent.

The 1970 U-20 Asian Cup Final was the last peak match achieved by the young Garuda team in this tournament. Since then until now, Indonesia has never recorded an achievement until the final round as other strong Asian teams from the Middle East and East Asia emerged.

Indonesia's best achievement in this event was only to qualify from the group stage and play in the quarter-finals. From 13 participations since 1971, Indonesia has qualified for the quarter-finals four times, namely in 1972 and 1976 in Thailand, the 1978 championship in Bangladesh, and the 2018 Asian Cup in Jakarta.

Indonesia's last step in the quarter-finals was in the 2018 Asian Cup. Indonesia lost to Japan in front of around 60,000 spectators who filled the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta.

In fact, if they win, Indonesia will secure a ticket to the U-20 World Cup. Because the U-20 Asian Cup is also a qualifying round for the U-20 World Cup. Those who qualify for the semifinals of the U-20 Asian Cup automatically get a ticket to the U-20 World Cup representing Asia.

Meanwhile, in nine other tournaments, Indonesia had to stop in the group stage. Finally, in 2023, the young Garuda team could not say much in Uzbekistan.

At that time, Indonesia was in Group A with the host Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Syria. Shin Tae-yong's team only finished in third place in Group A after picking up 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss.

Now, Indonesia will compete again in a similar tournament in the 2025 U-20 World Cup. Coach Indra Sjafri will rely on players who have a lot of experience in domestic and foreign leagues. In the previous qualifying round, Indonesia's goal was guarded by Ikram Algiffari (Semen Padang FC) who was supported by two tough defenders, namely Kadek Arel (Bali United) and Iqbal Gwijangge (Barito Putra).

The other two defenders act as wing backs. This position is usually entrusted to Dony Tri Pamungkas (Persija Jakarta) and Alfharezzi Buffon (Borneo FC) who will help attack from the left and right sides. In the midfielder position there is Welber Jardim (Sao Paulo Junior) who will work hand in hand with striker Jens Raven, a player from the Dutch Second Division club, Dordrecht.

The spirit of “Garuda Muda” is the hope for achievement in the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup. Indonesia's track record of achievements in this event is also a provision to increase enthusiasm for the Indonesian junior team.

This spirit and track record of achievements are increasingly added by the performance of coach Indra Sjafri who has just led the Indonesian U-19 National Team to become the champion of the 2024 AFF U-19 Cup. This is Indonesia's capital to compete from the group phase and reach the semifinals and secure the dream ticket to the U-20 World Cup. (LITBANG KOMPAS)

Read tomorrow: Indonesia U-20 vs Iran, Tough Obstacle in the First Match of the U-20 Asian Cup