Indonesia's football boss suddenly completely changed his stance on the final match against U.23 Vietnam

Erick Thohir wants U.23 Indonesia to play their best and not cause injuries.

PSSI President Erick Thohir wrote a message of encouragement to the U.23 Indonesian players: "Be mentally prepared, maintain solidarity and fight with all your might for the national flag in the final match against the U.23 Vietnam team. Keep up the good work, Garuda Muda (nickname of the U.23 Indonesian youth team)."

Indonesia's football boss suddenly completely changed his stance on the final match against U.23 Vietnam - Photo 1.

The U.23 Indonesia team went through an extremely tough semi-final match against U.23 Thailand that lasted 120 minutes and included a penalty shootout - PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

In addition to the above message, Mr. Erick Thohir also posted a video . In it, he asked the U.23 Indonesia players: "Who was in Thailand (in 2023)? Do you remember their performance (Vietnam U.23 team)?".

"This year, we are the hosts, we must be brave enough to play our best, but not to the point of injuring our opponents," added Mr. Erick Thohir. Then, the PSSI President emphasized: "They (Vietnam U.23 team) have been to the final 3 times and won 2 times. But remember, this is a difficult match, so we must be very focused throughout the 90 minutes."

U.23 Indonesia star 'is fine', has the strongest lineup to compete with U.23 Vietnam in the final

Accordingly, what Mr. Erick Thohir mentioned when he met the U.23 Indonesia players was the 2023 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament held in Thailand. At that time, the U.23 Indonesia team entered the final against the U.23 Vietnam team, but lost 5-6 after a penalty shootout (0-0 draw in regular time). That was the second consecutive time the U.23 Vietnam team was crowned Southeast Asian champion, after the first time in 2022 when they beat the Thai team (1-0) in the final when held in Cambodia.

The U.23 Indonesia team also entered the U.23 Southeast Asian finals for the third time. They won the championship for the first time in 2019, also held in Cambodia (winning 2-1 against U.23 Thailand). The final in 2023, they lost to U.23 Vietnam on penalties. Therefore, this year's rematch right at the "fire pit" Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta at 8:00 p.m. on July 29, the young team of the archipelago is very determined.

Indonesia's football boss suddenly completely changed his stance on the final match against U.23 Vietnam - Photo 2.

The U.23 Vietnam players are very confident before the final match on July 29 - PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

Previously, there was information that Mr. Erick Thohir encouraged young Indonesian players to play as fiercely as possible against the U.23 Vietnam team if necessary, in case the opponent applies a tough playing style.

However, Mr. Erick Thohir later explained that he was not advocating violent football, but was only encouraging the home team players to play with the highest determination and also because U.23 Indonesia was the host team.

As for the U.23 Vietnam team, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are clearly facing a huge challenge, as the home team is determined to keep the championship trophy in Jakarta. However, this is also an opportunity for the U.23 Vietnam players to demonstrate their abilities in the historic journey to set a record with the third consecutive championship of the U.23 Southeast Asia Championship.

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

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sep-lon-bong-da-indonesia-bat-ngo-thay-doi-lap-truong-ve-tran-chung-ket-u23-18525072808452869.htm