Indonesia is nervous about the Philippines' 'SEA Games 31 players': Worried about meeting U.23 Vietnam

Vietnam U23 will battle Malaysia for first place in the group; Indonesia U23 cannot afford to lose.

The second round of matches in Group A and B of the men's football tournament at the 33rd SEA Games has already taken place, but the Indonesian U23 team, the defending gold medalists, will only play their first match on December 8th against the Philippines U23 team at 6 PM at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai. Following that, the Indonesian youth team will play their final group stage match against Myanmar U23 at 6 PM on December 12th, one day after Groups A and B conclude.

Indonesia nơm nớp vì ‘dàn cầu thủ SEA Games 31’ của Philippines: Lo gặp U.23 Việt Nam- Ảnh 1. — Vietnam U23 (in white) will focus all their efforts on winning against Malaysia and securing first place in the group, while Indonesia U23 also faces a difficult situation against the Philippines U23.

In Group A, U23 Thailand will play U23 Singapore (7 PM on December 11th), having lost to U23 Timor Leste (who have already played two matches) with a score of 1-3. In this group, U23 Thailand only needs a draw against U23 Singapore to top the group, a task that seems very easy.

In Group B, U23 Laos has been eliminated, leaving only U23 Vietnam and U23 Malaysia, both with 3 points, to battle it out (4 PM on December 11th). The winner will top the group. U23 Malaysia has a slight advantage, needing only a draw to secure first place, thanks to a better goal difference of +3 compared to +1. However, according to experts, a draw is unlikely, as U23 Vietnam will put all their effort into winning and claiming first place in the group.

Despite praising Vietnam's U23 team as a championship contender, the Malaysian coach still asserted: 'We will win'.

The strength of the Vietnam U23 team is also considered higher than that of the current Malaysia U23 team, and they also had 8 days of rest after their opening match victory against Laos U23 with a score of 2-1 on December 3rd, allowing them to almost fully recover.

It is currently unclear whether the U23 Malaysia team will be reinforced with key players, after they missed the December 6 match because their clubs refused to release them. Furthermore, the "Harimau Muda" will have fewer days off to recover.

The complexity of Group B will also make the situation in Group C, where U23 Indonesia will face, extremely difficult to predict in the semi-finals, according to CNN Indonesia, adding: "Coach Indra Sjafri's team first needs to qualify from the group stage, instead of thinking about their semi-final opponents. Their first opponent, U23 Philippines, is certainly not easy to beat."

Indonesia nơm nớp vì ‘dàn cầu thủ SEA Games 31’ của Philippines: Lo gặp U.23 Việt Nam- Ảnh 2. — The Indonesian U23 team (in red) will not find it easy to advance from the group stage of the SEA Games 33, as the Philippine U23 team has suddenly become a formidable opponent.

In preparation for the match against U.23 Indonesia, U.23 Philippines (who just won convincingly against U.23 Myanmar 2-0 on December 5th) has at least two highly experienced players who previously competed in the SEA Games 31 (in 2022 in Hanoi , Vietnam): midfielder Sandro Reyes and center-back Jaime Rosquillo (both 22 years old according to the SEA Games 33 regulations).

In addition, the U.23 Philippines team also has five other players who participated in the 32nd SEA Games: Noah Leddel, Santiago Rublico, Gavin Muens, John Lucero, and Andres Aldeguer.

While the Indonesian U.23 team has no players from the SEA Games 31, only two players from the SEA Games 32 in 2023, Ananda Raehan and Muhammad Ferarri, remain, while the other player, Marselino Ferdinand, is absent due to injury.

Indonesian media are concerned that a defeat against the Philippines U23 team, despite having a squad of naturalized players from the Netherlands but mostly first-time SEA Games participants, would be disastrous. They must win convincingly in their final match against Myanmar U23 to have any hope of advancing as the best-performing second-placed team.

Currently, Vietnam U23 is temporarily leading (having played only 1 match, with 3 points and a goal difference of +1). However, things will change when Coach Kim Sang-sik's team plays their second match against Malaysia U23 on December 11th. The remaining team in this competition is Timor Leste U23 (having played 2 matches), with 3 points and a goal difference of -3.

In the semi-finals of the men's football tournament at the 33rd SEA Games, the pairings were determined as follows: Semi-final 1: the winner of Group A or B will face the winner of Group C; Semi-final 2: the winner of Group A or B will face the best-performing second-placed team from the three groups.

The semi-finals of the men's football tournament at the 33rd SEA Games will take place with the first semi-final at 3:30 PM and the second semi-final at 8:00 PM on December 15th. The bronze medal match will be held at 3:30 PM and the final at 7:30 PM on December 18th. All matches will be held at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.