Comments on U23 Philippines vs U23 Indonesia, 8:00 p.m. July 18: No surprises

TPO - Football prediction U23 Philippines vs U23 Indonesia, group stage of U23 Southeast Asia 2025, at 20:00 on July 18 - Information on forces, expected lineup, form, history of confrontation. Both winning 3 points in the opening match, U23 Indonesia and U23 Philippines promise to create a tense and calculating confrontation in the second match of Group A, U23 Southeast Asia 2025.

Pre-match review

Indonesia U23 had a dream start to the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament when they easily defeated Brunei U23 with a score of 8-0. The star of the match was Jens Raven, a naturalized striker of Dutch origin, with an unbelievable "double hat-trick". Besides Raven, Indonesia also has a dynamic midfield with many players who have competed in regional and continental youth tournaments, providing a balance between strength and experience.

However, it is necessary to realistically recognize that the victory over Brunei, the team considered the weakest in the group, does not fully reflect Indonesia's true ability. The upcoming match against U23 Philippines is the real test for coach Gerald Vanenburg and his team. However, the home field advantage and the enthusiastic cheers from tens of thousands of Indonesian spectators will fuel the fighting spirit of the red-shirt team.

Meanwhile, U23 Philippines created a big surprise when defeating championship candidate U23 Malaysia with a score of 2-0. Under the guidance of coach Garrath McPherson, the white team demonstrated an extremely disciplined and effective defensive counter-attacking style. Otu Abang Banatao, a striker of mixed American and Filipino blood, became the hero with an impressive double, taking full advantage of the gaps behind the opponent's defense.

The highlight of the U23 Philippines lies in the mixed-race and naturalized players who bring physical strength, speed and tactical diversity. Names such as goalkeeper Nicholas Guimaraes (Japanese origin), center-back Noah Leddel (Hong Kong), midfielder Gavin Muens and Jax Pena (USA) not only help increase the depth of the squad but also bring a modern, professional playing spirit.

However, the Philippines’ victory was not entirely flawless. Their defense showed some gaps that Malaysia failed to exploit, which Indonesia will surely exploit, especially with Jens Raven in good form.

The upcoming match will not only determine the top spot in Group A but also decide an early place in the semi-finals. With the spirit, quality of personnel and home field advantage, U23 Indonesia is considered to be the better team. However, if they are subjective or lack alertness in the face of the Philippines' counter-attacking style, the home team could pay the price.

Form, head-to-head history

In the last 5 matches, both teams won 2 and lost 3. Before winning against U23 Brunei, U23 Indonesia had a series of unsatisfactory matches in the U23 Asian Cup finals when they lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan, 1-2 to Iraq and 0-1 to Guinea in the play-off match for a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, they still left a strong impression when they held U23 Korea to a 2-2 draw and won a thrilling 11-10 penalty shootout.

On the other side of the front line, despite having a favorable start to this year's tournament with a surprising 2-0 victory over Malaysia, if we look at it more broadly, the U23 Philippines has not been able to build stability in recent times. In the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers, they lost 0-5 to Thailand, 0-4 to Malaysia and only had a narrow 1-0 victory over Bangladesh. Previously, in the 2023 U23 Asian finals, the Philippines also suffered a 0-1 defeat to U23 Vietnam and was eliminated early.

In terms of direct confrontation, history is completely on the side of U23 Indonesia. In the last three encounters at the SEA Games (2015, 2017 and 2022), Indonesia won with the following scores: 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0. Not only did they win all the points, but those victories also showed the superiority in class, physical strength and fighting spirit of the red team.

Force information

The two teams have the best forces

Expected lineup

Philippines U23: Nicholas Guimaraes, Noah Leddel, Kamil Amirul, Martin Merino, Dov Carino, John Lucero, Taningco, Javier Mariona, Jax Pena, Gavin Muens, Otu Abang Banatao

U23 Indonesia: Ardiansyah, Ferrari, Pamngkas, Darwin, Scheunemann, Fikri, Hanan, Mualana, Arjuna, Firmansyah, Raven.

Score prediction: U23 Philippines 1-3 U23 Indonesia

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhan-dinh-u23-philippines-vs-u23-indonesia-20h00-ngay-187-kho-co-bat-ngo-post1761260.tpo