Indonesian newspaper claims home team lost due to "curse" at Bung Karno Stadium

(Dan Tri) - The media of the archipelago nation believes that the failure of U23 Indonesia is due to the curse at the "fire pan" Bung Karno - the stadium that has witnessed many failures of this country's teams.

"Historically, since 1987, the Indonesian national team of all ages has continuously suffered defeats at the magnificent Bung Karno Stadium, especially in important matches and regional championship finals," Bola commented on the defeat of U23 Indonesia against U23 Vietnam in the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship held on the evening of July 29 at home.

Vietnam U23 players are still confident of defeating Indonesia U23 right at the "fire pit" of Bung Karno in the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship (Photo: AFC).

Despite playing at home with the cheers of more than 30,000 spectators in the stands, U23 Indonesia still suffered a bitter defeat against U23 Vietnam with a score of 0-1, when Cong Phuong scored the only goal in the 37th minute.

Despite controlling the ball up to 68% and creating many opportunities equal to U23 Vietnam, the efforts of the U23 Indonesia team could not bring about an equalizer and saw their opponent win the championship right on their home field.

"This defeat further confirms the curse of Indonesian football at Bung Karno Stadium, a venue that has also witnessed a series of failures of different age groups in achieving important victories," commented Bola newspaper.

In fact, Indonesia's youth teams often win at home. In 2022, the Indonesian U16 team won the Southeast Asian U16 Championship, held at Maguwoharjo Stadium. Previously, the Indonesian U19 team under coach Evan Dimas also achieved success at Sidoarjo Stadium.

However, Bola newspaper pointed out the failures of Indonesian football at Bung Karno Stadium, which was chosen as the National Stadium.

At the 1997 SEA Games, the Indonesian national team suffered a painful defeat against Thailand on penalties in the final. Five years later at the 2002 AFF Cup, history repeated itself when Indonesia once again lost to Thailand on penalties in the final.

The Vietnam U23 team celebrated winning the Southeast Asian U23 Championship for the third consecutive time at Bung Karno Stadium (Photo: VFF).

Disappointment continued at the 2010 AFF Cup, where the Indonesian national team lost to Malaysia in the final at Bung Karno Stadium. At the 2011 SEA Games, Indonesia U23 once again tasted the bitterness of losing on penalties to Malaysia U23.

"Finally, the 0-1 loss of U23 Indonesia to U23 Vietnam at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship was like the culmination of a series of such curses. Although Indonesia dominated the ball control, the final score was still in favor of U23 Vietnam, who scored the decisive goal and extinguished Indonesia's fighting spirit.

This phenomenon has become an issue that needs to be carefully considered by the Indonesian national team management and coaches to overcome this curse and restore glory to national football.

Bung Karno Main Stadium, a national sports symbol, must be a place where Indonesian players can play their best and win, not the other way around," Bola concluded.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-indonesia-tuyen-bo-doi-nha-that-bai-vi-loi-nguyen-tren-san-bung-karno-20250730101701327.htm