U23 Indonesia lost to Vietnam 'because it did not have the strongest force in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Tournament'?

U23 Indonesia lacked many quality players in the recent U23 Southeast Asian Championship, which caused them to not have the best results. But is that the reason for the loss?

Hubner is one of the naturalized stars of U23 Indonesia who will not participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Tournament - Photo: PSSI

After the final of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, President of the Indonesian Football Association Erick Thohir said that the reason why Indonesia U23 lost to Vietnam U23 was "because they did not have the strongest squad because many players of this age group had not been called up yet".

Mr. Thohir also said that the absence of two players, Arkhan Fikri and Toni Firmansyah, in the final match due to injury was also an important reason for U23 Indonesia's failure.

Looking at the list of Indonesian national team in the last 12 months, it can be seen that many naturalized Indonesian players under 23 age such as Justin Hubner, Rafael Struick, Ivan Jenner... are not on the list to participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Tournament.

Among them, Justin Hubner and Rafael Struick have just found a new home after a long time of worrying Indonesian fans because of being "unemployed". It is unclear whether this is the reason why these two players were not called up to the Indonesian U23 team.

In addition, U23 Indonesia also does not have the presence of another U23 native star, Marselino Ferdinan - who is playing for Oxford United. If these players are added, U23 Indonesia promises to "change its skin".

It is very likely that U23 Indonesia will call up its strongest squad to participate in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers - where they will host and compete for a ticket to the final round with Korea.

However, even with the strongest lineup, no one can guarantee that it will lead to victory or defeat.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u23-indonesia-thua-viet-nam-do-khong-co-luc-luong-manh-nhat-o-giai-u23-dong-nam-a-2025-20250731051844093.htm