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The U-23 Indonesian National Team seems to have taken a second breath after qualifying for the semifinals of the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup through the best second place / Photo: PSSI
RAYONG – The U-23 Indonesian National Team seemed to have taken a second breath after qualifying for the semifinals of the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup through the best second place. Of course this success should be grateful even though there was little assistance from Malaysia and Vietnam.
The success of the U-23 Indonesian National Team in qualifying for the semifinals might be said to be a stroke of luck. Imagine, the journey of the Garuda Muda squad in the Group B phase was somewhat less impressive.
The U-23 Indonesian national team was only able to bag three points from one win and one loss. Shin Tae-yong’s troops were forced to fight for a semifinal ticket through the best second place in the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup.
Also Read: The U-23 Indonesian National Team Qualifies for the Semifinals of the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup
Luckily, in the second best ranking group in the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup. The U-23 Indonesian national team was able to win the semifinal ticket competition against the Philippines and Cambodia.
Indonesia U-23 will qualify for the top four after Vietnam U-23 beat the Philippines with a narrow score of 1-0. Huu Tuan’s goal in the 18th minute was enough to help the Garuda Muda squad advance to the knockout stages.
Meet Thailand in the semifinals
The success of the U-23 Indonesian National Team in reaching the semifinals was certainly welcomed by fans in the country. However, Shin Tae-yong’s troops could not relax.
The reason is, the opponents they face in the top four of the 2023 AFF U-23 Cup are not easy. They are Thai.
Quoting Aiscore statistics, Wednesday (23/8/2023), the U-23 Indonesian national team was only able to bag one win against Thailand. Interestingly, in the last nine meetings, the Garuda Muda squad only scored seven goals.
While Thailand U-23 successfully scored 27 goals against Indonesia U-23. Referring to these statistics, Shin Tae-yong needs to hone his defense and player instincts to take advantage of opportunities to score goals.
