Latent Problems of the Indonesian U-23 Attack Line

The ferocious nature of Indonesia's attacking line when they defeated Brunei Darussalam 8-0 in the opening match of Group A of the ASEAN U-23 Championship suddenly vanished in the face of the Philippine defense. The "Garuda Muda" did manage to secure three points, but only thanks to an own goal from the opposing player. Not only in the U-23 team, the problem of productivity in the front line has also infected the senior national team.

A narrow victory over the Philippines simultaneously confirms the statement of the General Chair of PSSI, Erick Thohir, who mentioned that the match against Brunei cannot be used as a benchmark for the strength of the Indonesian U-23 team. Erick appeared to be unimpressed with Indonesia's productivity against Brunei. Indeed, when facing the Philippines, which is at a higher level than Brunei, Indonesia's attacking line seemed to run out of ideas to score goals.

The winning goal for Indonesia was created from a suicide action by the Filipino midfielder, Jaime Rosquillo, in the 23rd minute. Rosquillo misjudged the long throw from Robi Darwis, causing the ball to slide into the Filipino goal. Indonesia's U-23 coach, Gerald Vanenburg, acknowledged that his team was fortunate to score the winning goal through such a scheme.

"In a match, there is indeed sometimes an element of luck. Previously, we scored eight goals. Today, we could have actually scored four to five goals," said Vanenburg during the press conference following the match at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Friday (18/7/2025) evening.

Hokky Caraka, who was assigned as a center forward, couldn't do much. Likewise, Indonesia's top scorer, Jens Raven, who came on in the second half. Raven had a goal early in the second half, but it was disallowed for offside.

Furthermore, Raven struggled to maneuver and find shooting space. The Philippines defended very tightly. Even if there were opportunities to break through, goalkeeper Nicholas Guimaraes performed exceptionally with his agility in thwarting a series of chances from Indonesia. Guimaraes recorded a total of eight crucial saves, leading to frustration for the "Garuda Muda" attacking line.

The agility of Guimaraes seemed to slap the faces of the Indonesian forwards. Out of seven shots on target by Indonesia, not a single one resulted in a goal. Indonesia's winning goal was instead created from an own goal by Rosquillo.

The Philippines is more astute in their defensive scheme. The Philippine coach, Garrath McPherson, is already aware of how to mitigate Indonesia's aggressiveness. He instructed his defensive players not to allow Indonesia to have a numerical advantage when attacking. In this way, Indonesia's offensive efforts can be thwarted repeatedly.

In addition, the Filipino defender urged the Indonesian players to take long-range shots, which could then be easily handled by Guimaraes. The method was to tightly close off the passing lanes in the central area of the field. The 4-4-2 formation implemented by McPherson was partly intended for such situations.

Creating many opportunities but with minimal goals serves as a point of evaluation for the coaching staff of the Indonesia U-23 team. Indonesia indeed only needed a draw when facing Malaysia in the final match of Group A. However, achieving a draw is not an option for Indonesia, which is ambitious about lifting the trophy at home.

"Of course, we always have room for improvement. In the coming days, we will prepare ourselves well so that we can achieve better results against Malaysia," said Indonesia's winger, Victor Dethan.

Erick expressed gratitude for the results achieved by Indonesia, which temporarily places them at the top of Group A. However, he noted the tendency of Indonesia to squander opportunities. Erick hopes that "Garuda Muda" can improve their productivity when facing Malaysia on Monday (21/7).

"We controlled almost 67 percent (of ball possession). So, our dominance was quite maximal. We had 17 shots on goal, seven of which were accurate, but the goal was an own goal. This means that we hope to improve the sharpness of our attacks," said Erick.

The issue of goal productivity is not only faced by the U-23 team; the senior national team coached by Patrick Kluivert is also experiencing it. Since being appointed to replace Shin Tae-yong, Kluivert has accompanied Indonesia in four matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. In those four matches, Indonesia has only managed to score three goals while conceding 11 goals.

Ole Romeny has become the only player capable of scoring since the national team was taken over by Kluivert. Previously, the sources of goals for the Indonesian national team did not only come from forwards but also from midfielders, as seen during their 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Jakarta.