Indonesian football boss admits surprising truth about Vietnam U.23 team

President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI), Mr. Erick Thohir, said that the country's football needs to continue to build more strongly to regain the dominance of the U.23 Vietnam team in the Southeast Asian tournament.

We must respect the strength of Vietnamese football, Indonesia must be stronger

According to Mr. Erick Thohir: "Indonesian football must appreciate the results of the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament. We have seen that Vietnamese football has reached the final of the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament 3 times in a row. And they have won all 3 times. This says a lot. It means that we must build our football foundation even stronger. Because, at a certain age, we must prepare and fight to win the championship."

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan (right) and PSSI President after the U.23 Southeast Asia final

President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI), Mr. Erick Thohir (in black shirt) affirmed that the failure at the U.23 Southeast Asia will be the driving force to build stronger football in this country.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

Mr. Erick Thohir's statement, thereby showing that there is no such thing as Indonesian football underestimating the U.23 players of this country and the Southeast Asian tournament, after the defeat in the final match against U.23 Vietnam with a score of 0-1 on July 29 at home stadium Gelora Bung Karno. Losing the opportunity to win this tournament for the second time after the first time in 2019, according to CNN Indonesia.

According to Mr. Erick Thohir, the fact that Vietnamese football has maintained its consecutive success at the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament is an excellent preparation for this football foundation, not only for the next generation in the national team, but also to protect achievements at the youth football level, and especially in preparing the best quality players to inherit the success.

CNN Indonesia said that after the shocking defeat in the final match of the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament, Mr. Erick Thohir met with many PSSI officials to plan and better prepare the country's youth teams for the next tournaments.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and U.23 Vietnam were awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Prime Minister.

In particular, the U.23 Indonesia team will return to compete in the U.23 Asian qualifiers in early September. This event is very important, and requires the U.23 team of the archipelago to have better preparation to win a ticket to the Asian finals in 2026. Next is the U.17 Indonesia team that will participate in the Independence Cup friendly tournament in August, preparing for the U.17 World Cup in Qatar in early November.

The Indonesian U.23 team will return to compete in the U.23 Asian qualifiers in early September.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

Meanwhile, the U.22 Indonesia team (including players who just participated in the U.23 Southeast Asia) will attend the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand in December to defend the gold medal in men's football.

According to CNN Indonesia, coach Gerald Vanenburg was officially removed by PSSI from his position as coach of the country's U.22 team participating in the 33rd SEA Games as previously planned. This Dutch coach only worked in the U.23 Asian qualifiers, then returned to the Indonesian team as an assistant to coach Kluivert to prepare for the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia in early October.

The U.22 Indonesia team participating in the 33rd SEA Games will likely be led by veteran coach Indra Sjafri. Mr. Indra Sjafri is currently the Technical Director of PSSI after leaving the U.20 Indonesia team in February this year. He is also the coach who helped the Indonesian youth team win the SEA Games men's football gold medal (in 2023 in Cambodia) and the U.23 Southeast Asian championship in 2019.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/sep-lon-bong-da-indonesia-thua-nhan-su-that-bat-ngo-ve-doi-u23-viet-nam-185250801101119067.htm