SEA Games 30: U22 Indonesia has a good chance of advancing to the top of Group B

The U22 Indonesia team had to face many difficulties to defeat U22 Singapore with a score of 2-0. With 3 points, the team from the archipelago has risen to 2nd place in Group B, equal in points with U22 Vietnam but inferior in goal difference. Therefore, the confrontation between the two teams on December 1 will greatly decide the situation of this group.

Surprise team of archipelago

U22 Indonesia (red shirt) had an important 2-0 victory over U22 Singapore. Photo: AFC

In fact, before the 30th SEA Games, the U22 Indonesia team was not highly rated because the results in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round were not very positive. They lost to U23 Thailand 0-4 and then continued to lose to host U23 Vietnam 0-1 at My Dinh Stadium.

The fact that the Indonesian national team lost all 5 matches in the 2020 World Cup Asian qualifiers, being among the worst performing teams in the 8 groups, forced coach McMenemy to resign. The fact that Mr. McMenemy had to use older naturalized foreign players as the core of the team has raised questions about the country's youth football.

However, at the 30th SEA Games, coach Indra Sjafri and his team showed a completely different face. With an unfavorable schedule, they had to face 3 strong teams Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam before meeting Brunei and Laos, in contrast to our U22 Vietnam. At this time, U22 Vietnam seemed to be a big obstacle for the team from the archipelago, because Brunei and Laos showed that they were not significant opponents in this group.

Coach Indra Sjafri has the "prodigy" Egy Maulana Vikri - a 19-year-old player playing in Poland and two players over the age of 22 who were called up for the 30th SEA Games, midfielders Evan Dimas and Zulfiandi. Both are 24 years old, and are the backbone of the Indonesian team that just participated in the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers. At the last minute, he did not take a risk with naturalized Brazilian striker Beto Goncalves, who suffered a hamstring injury that could only be recovered when the 30th SEA Games had already started.

U22 Indonesia had an impressive performance when defeating Thailand 2-0 in the first match. The champion of the last 3 SEA Games was closely followed by Indonesian players, ready to play both sides of the field. The simple and physical style of play of coach Indra Sjafri and his team surprised the Thai players.

In the match against U22 Singapore, they met an opponent with an extremely tough playing style. After the draw with U22 Laos, if they do not win, Singapore coach Fandi Ahmad and his team will have to leave the game early. In that situation, U22 Singapore wants to take advantage of their better physique and physical strength to play overwhelming aerial balls.

U22 Indonesia had a resilient first half before organizing short and medium passes to approach the opponent's goal in the second 45 minutes. The Singaporean students could not withstand the continuous attacks of the young Indonesian players and had to lose 0-2.

Balance of power before the match against U22 Vietnam

The simple, physical style of play by coach Indra Sjafri and his team surprised the Thai players. Photo: AFC

Substitute Olsvado played the hero role with 1 goal and 1 assist, helping the Indonesian team win 2-0. However, their victory was not complete when Firza and Rafli were both forced to leave the Rizal Memorial Stadium early due to injuries and could not play in the next match. Firza and Rafli were always the number 1 choices of coach Indra Sjafri as left back and striker at this SEA Games.

Obviously, this is a difficult match for U22 Indonesia in the match against Trong Hoang, a player with a lot of experience, who is in good form after the first 2 matches. Like Indonesia, U22 Vietnam also has 2 injured players Trong Hung and Tan Sinh, but clearly the role of these 2 players is not as important as Firza and Rafli.

In the “early final” match, if U22 Vietnam needs to win, coach Indra Sjafri and his team only need a draw to achieve their goal. With the first 2 victories, almost keeping the same lineup, we believe that after the 3rd round, U22 Vietnam, not Indonesia, is the brightest candidate for the ticket to the next round.