Thai and Indonesian press spoke highly of the dramatic U.23 Southeast Asia semi-final match.

The semi-final match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Indonesia at the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship took place on the evening of July 25 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Jakarta, Indonesia) and was very exciting. The match ended with a 7-6 victory for Indonesia after a thrilling penalty shootout, when the two teams drew 1-1 during 120 minutes of play.

Thai media: Tears over unfortunate defeat

Matichon newspaper headlined: “Young War Elephants shed tears!” when talking about the fall of the U.23 Thailand team. The newspaper wrote: “Although Indonesia pressed the field for most of the time, it was Thailand who opened the score in the 60th minute thanks to Yotsakorn Burapha. However, a mistake in defense in the 83rd minute caused them to equalize. In extra time, U.23 Thailand continuously pressed when Indonesia was out of breath, but the strikers missed their chances.”

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium exploded with the victory of the host team U.23 Indonesia

Matichon also highlighted the regrettable penalty shootout when the best defender of the match – Pichitchai Siankraot – hit the crossbar in the first round. The situation where Yotsakorn Burapha missed the kick in the 8th round made the Thais even more regretful, before Buffon of Indonesia successfully kicked, ending the dream of reaching the final of the “Young War Elephants”.

Thai player (white shirt) opened the score first

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Indonesian Newspaper: Hero Ardiansyah and the historic victory

Meanwhile, the Indonesian media unanimously hailed the victory. Jawa Pos called the match “super dramatic” and praised the home team’s tenacity against a strong opponent. The article detailed the back-and-forth between the two teams, with the mobility of Rahmat Arjuna and Rayhan Hannan on the wings creating many opportunities for Indonesia. Despite falling behind, the home team did not collapse and equalized in the 84th minute thanks to a header from Jens Raven.

U.23 Indonesia entered the final match with a dramatic victory.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Goalkeeper Muhammad Ardiansyah is the hero of U.23 Indonesia

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Indonesian players hugged each other and cried with happiness.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

In particular, Jawa Pos had words of praise for goalkeeper Muhammad Ardiansyah - who was considered the "hero" and "best player of the match". During the 120 minutes, Ardiansyah only conceded one goal and had 4 excellent saves. The highlight was the situation of blocking Burapha's shot in the penalty shootout, creating momentum for Buffon to successfully shoot the decisive shot.

This newspaper also introduces in detail the biography of Ardiansyah - a young goalkeeper born in 2003 in Makassar, who studied at SSB Hasanuddin and developed through the youth training system before playing for the professional club PSM Makassar.

Watch the full U.23 Southeast Asian Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ 2025 live onFPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-chi-thai-lan-indonesia-noi-gi-ve-tran-ban-ket-u23-dong-nam-a-185250726084520372.htm