Indonesia moves to put pressure on U22 Vietnam and Thailand at SEA Games

(Dan Tri) - The Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has affirmed that it will do its best to help the U22 Indonesia team defend the SEA Games Gold Medal. This is a move to make it difficult for U22 Vietnam and U22 Thailand on their journey to hunt for gold.

On October 24, PSSI President Erick Thohir held a press conference to answer the media about the plans of the national team and U22 Indonesia in the upcoming period.

Recently, Indonesian football has been in turmoil when PSSI has just fired coach Patrick Kluivert. Mr. Thohir affirmed that Indonesia will not rush to find a new coach. The Indonesian team may not even gather during the FIFA Days (national team gathering according to FIFA's schedule) in November.

U22 Indonesia determined to defend SEA Games Gold Medal (Photo: Manh Quan).

The head of Indonesian football said: “Regarding the FIFA Days, if we have not found a coach, we are not in a hurry to gather the national team. Although PSSI has a plan to bring the Indonesian team to the top 100 in the world , set a high target in the 2027 Asian Cup and a roadmap towards participating in the 2030 World Cup, we are not in a hurry.”

Instead, Mr. Erick Thohir affirmed that he will do his best to help U22 Indonesia defend the SEA Games Gold Medal. He added: "We will take advantage of the FIFA Days to let U22 Indonesia focus on preparing for the SEA Games because this is the upcoming tournament. The team will focus on training with coach Indra Sjafri."

According to Indonesian media, PSSI will call up the strongest possible squad with the goal of helping U22 Indonesia win the SEA Games 33. They will call up naturalized players such as Ivar Jenner, Adrian Wibowo (currently playing in the US for Los Angeles FC) and even the bright young star Marselino Ferdinan.

Dutch-born naturalized player Ivar Jenner could be in contention for the SEA Games (Photo: Bola).

Talking about the plan of U22 Indonesia, President Erick Thohir shared: "We will try to summon the best players. We have invited Adrian Wibowo, Marselino Ferdinan, Mauro Zijlstra, Ivar Jenner and others. Indonesia takes the goal of winning the SEA Games Gold Medal very seriously. Everyone is waiting to see how everything goes."

It is understandable that Indonesia is focusing on the U22 team when the national team failed in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and has no big matches for the rest of this year and next year, before conquering the 2027 Asian Cup.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/indonesia-co-dong-thai-gay-ap-luc-len-u22-viet-nam-thai-lan-o-sea-games-20251025102039878.htm