Indonesia and Malaysia won but were still 'in danger', U.23 China 'crushed' their opponents 10-0

Despite their big win in the second round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers on the evening of September 6, U23 Indonesia and U23 Malaysia are expected to face many difficulties in the final round. Meanwhile, U23 China has somewhat regained the trust of fans with a big win over U23 Northern Mariana Islands 10-0.

U.23 Indonesia and Malaysia both won big

With a 0-0 draw against U.23 Laos in the first round, U.23 Indonesia is putting itself in a difficult position in the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers. Coach Gerald Vanenburg and his team only have 1 point and must win big against U.23 Macau in the second round to keep their hopes of advancing.

Facing the opponent considered the weakest in Group J, U.23 Indonesia made 6 changes compared to the opening match. Notably, naturalized players such as Victor Dethan, Jens Raven, Rafael Struick all had to sit on the bench.

The goal of a big win was clearly shown by U.23 Indonesia when they pushed up their formation and attacked right after the opening whistle. In the first 45 minutes, U.23 Indonesia held the ball up to 76%, launched 15 shots, causing the U.23 Macau goal to shake.

At the end of the match, U.23 Indonesia also had the advantage of leading 2-0. Right in the 3rd minute, U.23 Indonesia took the lead 1-0 after a surprise shot by Rahmat Arjuna. In the 17th minute, Arkhan Fikri coolly finished, doubling the gap for the home team.

U.23 Indonesia knew how to score after many missed opportunities.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

In the second half, the pressure from U.23 Indonesia was even greater. It only took 2 minutes for Rayhan Hannan to help U.23 Indonesia raise the score to 3-0. At the end of the match, Zanadin Fariz and Giliran Rafa scored, sealing a 5-0 victory for U.23 Indonesia.

This victory helped U.23 Indonesia gain 4 points after 2 matches, rising to 2nd place in Group J. In the final match on September 9, U.23 Indonesia will meet U.23 Korea. Coach Gerald Vanenburg and his team are expected to face many difficulties as U.23 Korea is showing its strength in Group J, winning all 2 matches and scoring 12 goals. In the most recent match, against U.23 Laos - the team that forced U.23 Indonesia to share points, U.23 Korea also won 7-0.

In Group F, the match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Lebanon was postponed due to heavy rain. Before that, in the match taking place at 4 p.m., U.23 Malaysia found joy again when defeating U.23 Mongolia with a score of 7-0. With this victory, U.23 Malaysia has 3 points, temporarily rising to 2nd place. However, U.23 Malaysia's chance of advancing is still very low when they have to face host country U.23 Thailand in the final match.

The match between Thailand U23 and Lebanon was postponed for 30 minutes due to heavy rain.

After a 30-minute delay due to heavy rain, the match between U.23 Thailand and U.23 Lebanon continued. Despite being considered weaker, U.23 Lebanon once again showed their resilience, holding U.23 Thailand to a 2-2 draw. In this match, U.23 Lebanon even took the lead twice thanks to a brace from midfielder Farhat in the 48th and 84th minutes. It was thanks to the brilliance of Seksan Ratree (73rd minute) and Chanapach Buaphan (88th minute) that U.23 Thailand was able to retain 1 point.

Drawing 2-2 with U.23 Lebanon, U.23 Thailand still holds the top spot in Group F. Meanwhile, U.23 Lebanon also has 4 points but is ranked 2nd due to inferior sub-index. In the final round, U.23 Thailand will meet U.23 Malaysia while U.23 Lebanon will face the team considered the weakest in the group, U.23 Macau.

Winning 7-0 but U.23 Malaysia's chance to continue is still very narrow

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

Meanwhile, in Group D, U.23 China had an unbelievable 10-0 victory over U.23 Northern Mariana Islands. This was considered a surprising result as in the first round, U.23 China played poorly and struggled to defeat U.23 East Timor 2-1.

In the 10-0 victory of China U23 over Northern Mariana Islands U23, Behram Abduweli and Wang Yudong each contributed a hat-trick. The remaining 4 wins of China U23 were scored by Zhu Pengyu (double), Kuai Jiwen and Li Xinxiang.

With a resounding 10-0 win, U.23 China has 6 points after 2 matches, equal to U.23 Australia. In the final match, these two teams will face off to decide the top spot in Group D.

U.23 Vietnam 1-0 U.23 Singapore: The home team firmly holds the top spot in Group C

Watch live and complete Group C - 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/indonesia-cung-malaysia-thang-nhung-van-lam-nguy-u23-trung-quoc-de-bep-doi-thu-10-0-185250906213410799.htm