Indonesia Gets Additional Ammunition Ahead of Life-and-Death Match Against Australia

Justin Hubner is Indonesia's additional ammunition ahead of the match against Australia in the U-23 Asian Cup.

KOMPAS/IWAN SETIYAWAN

The celebration of Indonesian player Justin Hubner after Indonesia's win in the match against Vietnam in Group D of the 2023 Asia Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar, on Friday (19/1/2024).

DOHA, THURSDAY — Indonesia received additional ammunition ahead of the life-and-death match against Australia, Thursday (18/4/2024) evening. This was confirmed after Justin Hubner finally received permission from his club in Japan, Cerezo Osaka, to join the Indonesian U-23 national team in Qatar.

Quoted from the official PSSI website, Hubner is scheduled to arrive in Qatar this Thursday morning, to join the other players. Hubner's arrival will help the "Garuda Muda" squad, who must lose two players due to receiving red cards in the first match against the host Qatar.

Midfielder Ivar Jenner received two controversial yellow cards from Tajikistani referee Nasrullo Kabirov during the match against Qatar. Meanwhile, striker Ramadhan Sananta was given a straight red card. Hubner will strengthen the young national team's defense line.

”Thank God, amidst the challenges faced by the players, especially in the first match against the hosts, Hubner was finally able to join. "With the presence of additional strength in the back line, after Ivar Jenner was definitely absent from the second match against Australia, I am optimistic that our team will recover and fight again," said PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir as quoted on the pssi.org page. , Wednesday (17/4/2024).

Also read: Win or Go Home, Team "Garuda Muda"

Another player who was allowed by his club to strengthen the national team abroad is Nathan Tjoe-A-On. Nathan, who plays in the Eredivisie, was permitted by his club, Heerenveen, to play for the Red and White in the U-23 Asian Cup. "Hubner becomes the second Indonesian player who has played abroad, released by his club thanks to the lobbying of PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir," said a statement from PSSI.

KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Indonesian player Justin Hubner (on the right) goes for the ball against Vietnam's player Pham Xuan Manh during the 2026 World Cup qualifying match at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on Thursday (21/3/2024). Indonesia narrowly defeated Vietnam with a score of 1-0.

Must win

Indonesia must defeat Australia to maintain hope of advancing to the group stage. The painful 0-2 defeat to Qatar in the first game has put Indonesia in a tight position.

Currently, Indonesia is at the bottom of Group A standings, which is also occupied by Jordan. Qatar leads the group with three points, followed by Australia and Jordan who have the same score, one point, after drawing in the first match.

Also read: Controversial Referee, PSSI Files Protest to AFC

Indonesia U-23 coach Shin Tae-yong said his squad had the ambition to recover after suffering a painful defeat to Qatar in the opening game. Even though they lost, said Shin, his team had shown good performance, even with nine players they were still able to keep up with Qatar.

"From the first match, all players showed that Indonesia has good competitiveness and did not give up even though they lost one or two players. That is an important asset for us to rise up in the match against Australia," said Shin on Wednesday in a statement in Doha.

Shin understands that the match against Australia will not be an easy one for his team. Indonesia has experienced Australia's dominance twice in a row during the Qualifying Round of the 2022 U-23 Asian Cup. Playing in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in October 2021, Indonesia lost 2-3 and 0-1, resulting in Australia securing a spot in the final round in Uzbekistan.

AFC/NOUFAL IBRAHIM

Indonesia U-23 coach Shin Tae-yong observed the performance of his players in the match against Qatar in the 2024 U-23 Asia 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, Australia has always been able to reach the semifinals.

In order to achieve the mission of obtaining full points against Australia, Shin must determine the best player lineup without star midfielder Ivar Jenner. Even though the U-23 Indonesia team officials have appealed to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regarding Jenner's second yellow card in the match against Qatar, Shin has considered the worst possibility in the absence of the Jong Utrecht player.

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

Arkhan Fikri, a midfielder from Arema FC, has the opportunity to lock down one pivot position in midfield. Another spot is likely to be filled by versatile player, Nathan Tjoe-A-On. The Heerenveen player performed well when filling in at the heart of the game since coming on in the 51st minute of the match against Qatar.