Falling to Korea, U23 Indonesia's dream of participating in the 2026 U23 Asian Cup was shattered

(Dan Tri) - Unable to create a surprise against U23 Korea in the final round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, U23 Indonesia's dream of winning a ticket to the final round to be held in Saudi Arabia next year was shattered.

U23 Indonesia entered the final match of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers in Group J on the evening of September 9 with the sole goal of winning against U23 Korea.

The Indonesian team currently has only 4 points after two matches and is 2 points behind the top team U23 Korea, so a draw means stopping right from the qualifying round.

However, playing away at Korea's Gelora Delta Stadium is not easy, especially when Korea U23 is a team of higher class than coach Gerald Vanenburg's team.

U23 Indonesia (white shirt) could not create a surprise against U23 Korea in the final round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers (Photo: Bola).

However, U23 Indonesia entered the match with great enthusiasm and almost scored against U23 Korea after less than a minute of play.

Rayhan Hannan's breakthrough was followed by a low pass into the penalty area, causing chaos in the home team's penalty area. Unfortunately, Rayhan's perfect pass could not be used by his teammates to open the scoring.

However, just 5 minutes later, the away team was doused with cold water when U23 Korea opened the scoring early. Midfielder Hwang Do Yun's shot hit the post and went straight into the net, surprising the U23 Indonesia defense.

The early goal forced the U23 Indonesia players to push up their formation to attack in search of an equalizer. In the 25th minute, striker Hokky Caraka had a golden opportunity to equalize but his shot went just wide of the goal.

In the remaining minutes of the first half, U23 Indonesia continued to be stuck in finding a way into the home team's goal and entered the break between the two halves with a one-goal lead.

Entering the second half, coach Gerald Vanenburg's team tried to play offensively but almost conceded a second goal in the 51st minute if goalkeeper Cahya Supradia had not made a timely save.

The second half saw both U23 Indonesia and U23 Korea create good chances in front of the opponent's goal. Frengky Missa of U23 Indonesia had a good cross in front of the goal but Jens Raven could not tap the ball in.

Meanwhile, U23 Korea then created a chance with a long shot but Cahya Supriadi once again blocked it.

In the 79th minute, goalkeeper Cahya Supriadi continued to make an excellent save when Kang Seong Jin's powerful left-footed shot from inside the penalty area was calmly blocked by the 22-year-old goalkeeper.

In the remaining minutes, U23 Indonesia tried to attack but could not penetrate the home team's defense, thereby accepting a 0-1 loss. With this result, U23 Korea officially won a direct ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, while U23 Indonesia accepted to say goodbye to the tournament right from the qualifying round.

Starting lineup:

U23 Indonesia (4-4-2) : Cahya Supriadi; Mikael Tata, Kadek Arel, Dion Markx, Dony Tri Pamungkas; Rayhan Hannan, Arkhan Fikri, Zanadin Faris, Rahmat Arjuna; Hokky Caraka, Rafael Struick

U23 Korea: Moon Hyunho; Kang Minjun, Choi Woojin, Choi Seok Hyun, Lee Hyunyong, Kim Jisoo; Hwang Doyun, Joung Jihun, Lee Seungwon, Park Seungho, Jeong Jaesang

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/guc-nga-truoc-han-quoc-u23-indonesia-tan-mong-du-giai-u23-chau-a-2026-20250909215259122.htm