Win or Go Home, "Garuda Muda" Team

Indonesia cannot afford to lose points to Australia. Without Ivar, Nathan has the opportunity to fill a place in midfield.

AFC/MUSTAFA ABUMUNES

Indonesian midfielder, Marselino Ferdinan, controlled the ball amidst a swarm of Qatar players in the first match of Group A of the 2024 Asian U-23 Cup on Monday (15/4/2024) at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar. Indonesia lost 0-2.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Mission impossible for the Indonesian U-23 team when they face Australia in the second match of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, Thursday (18/4/2024) at 20.00 WIB, at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. If they lose again, the "Young Garuda" squad will have to pack up their suitcases early and their ambition to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be dashed.

With this situation, Indonesia must be able to beat Australia to ensure that the chance of advancing to the next phase is maintained. If we can only achieve a draw, the chance of advancing to the knockout round may not be gone, but Indonesia cannot determine its own fate.

On the other hand, if they fail to get points or lose to Australia, Indonesia will definitely be eliminated. The reason is, Marselino Ferdinan and his friends will not be able to compete with Australia, who scored one point in the first match against Jordan, then also lost under the tiebreakers rule to Qatar.

Referring to the tiebreakers rules in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup group phase, the ranking of two teams with the same points will be determined based on the head-to-head meetings between the two teams. This condition means that Indonesia will definitely be below Qatar if the two teams end the preliminary round with equal points.

AFC/MUSTAFA ABUMUNES

Indonesia's winger, Witan Sulaeman, dribbled the ball to avoid the defense of the Qatari wing-back, Saifeldeen Hassan Fadlalla, in the first match of Group A of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup on Monday (15/4/2024) at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Hoping for Qatar, the host team, to lose in the next two matches against Jordan and Australia is impossible. The superiority of player quality and the support of the audience itself will enable Qatar to earn points when facing Jordan on Thursday at 10:30 PM, at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

Indonesia U-23 coach Shin Tae-yong said that his squad has the ambition to bounce back after suffering a painful defeat from Qatar in the opening game. Despite the loss, Shin said his players have shown a good performance, even with nine players they were able to keep up with Qatar.

"From the first match, all players showed that Indonesia has good competitiveness and do not give up even when losing one or two players. That is an important asset for us to rise up in the match against Australia," said Shin on Wednesday (17/4/2024), in a statement in Doha, Qatar.

Shin understands that the match against Australia will not be an easy one for his team. Indonesia has experienced Australia's superiority twice in a row in the Qualifying Round of the 2022 U-23 Asian Cup. Playing in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in October 2021, Indonesia was defeated 2-3 and 0-1, allowing Australia to secure a ticket to the final round in Uzbekistan.

Also read: Referee Controversy Dashes the Hopes of the U-23 Indonesian National Team

AFC/NOUFAL IBRAHIM

Indonesian U-23 coach Shin Tae-yong observed the actions of his players during the match against Qatar in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup on Monday (15/4/2024) at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar. Indonesia aims to rise up in the second match against Australia.

A number of Indonesian players from both games will once again play against Australia in Qatar. They are Ernando Ari, Rizky Ridho, Pratama Arhan, Witan Sulaeman, and Marselino Ferdinan. Witan was one of the goal scorers for Indonesia at the time.

Apart from this meeting record, Australia is also one of the favorites to win the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup tournament. In the last two editions, namely Thailand 2020 and Uzbekistan 2022, Socceroos has always been able to reach the semifinals.

Midfield changes

To fulfill the mission of winning full points against Australia, Shin had to determine the best lineup without star midfielder, Ivar Jenner. Despite the Indonesian U-23 team officials' appeal to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regarding Ivar's second yellow card in the match against Qatar, Shin has already considered the worst-case scenario without the presence of Jong Utrecht's player.

Arkhan Fikri, a midfielder from Arema FC, has the opportunity to secure one of the pivot positions in the midfield. The other spot is likely to be filled by the versatile player, Nathan Tjoe-A-On. The Heerenveen player performed well when he played in the heart of the game after coming on in the 51st minute of the match against Qatar.

Also read: Controversial Referee, PSSI Files Protest to AFC

From the first match, all players showed that Indonesia has good competitiveness and does not give up even though losing one or two players.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

National U-23 team player, Arkhan Fikri, while trying to defend the ball from Turkmenistan player, Umarov Salim, during the Qualification Round of the 2024 Asia U-23 Cup at Manahan Stadium, Surakarta City, on Tuesday (12/9/2023).

Given this condition, the lineup of the trio of the defensive line and trident of the front line will not experience any changes. On the wing side, Pratama Arhan, who occupies the position of left wingback, and Rio Fahmi on the right wingback have the opportunity to play from the start, unless they experience physical obstacles.

Wahyu Tanoto, a former player of Indonesia's national team in the early 1980s, believes that Indonesia U-23 squad should learn from their match against Qatar. According to Wahyu, Qatar's attention in trying to provoke rough play was successful, resulting in two red cards for Indonesia's players and 23 fouls committed.

Even though it is difficult, Wahyu considers achieving victory over Australia not impossible. In order to achieve positive results, Wahyu emphasized the need for the Garuda Muda squad to appear more active through high pressure games and take the initiative to attack from the start of the match.

"We need to start by controlling the ball and intensifying off-the-ball movement to break the opponent's concentration. We must be able to dominate the game so that Australia's gameplay cannot develop," said Wahyu.

Also read: Great hopes surround the U-23 Indonesian National Team

AFC

Australia U-23 coach Antony Vidmar gave instructions to his proteges during the match against Jordan in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup on Monday (4/15/2024) at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar. The match ended in a 0-0 draw.

"Hopefully all Indonesian players never give up in their fight. It is also important for us to win every duel, especially in penalty boxes," he said.

Meanwhile, Australia's U-23 coach, Antony Vidmar, is determined to improve his team's performance. In the match against Jordan, Australia failed to score despite dominating and playing against 10 men in the final 10 minutes of the game.

According to Vidmar, his protégé was able to play well with reference to achieving one point and not conceding a goal. However, he believes that the effectiveness of Australia's attack is still far from ideal.

"We want to play attacking football. We need to work better to provide more varied opportunities to break down the opponent's defense," said Vidmar as quoted by the AFC website.