
The 0-0 draw clearly did not satisfy the Indonesian U23 fans who were expecting a first victory over the Malaysian U23 in 16 years. Not only that, the events at Gelora Bung Karno surprised everyone when coach Gerald Vanenburg's team could not score.
In 90 minutes, U23 Indonesia controlled the ball up to 71%, launched 482 passes, more than double the opponent (231). However, only 11 shots were made, including 3 shots on target, which is quite low. Not to mention that despite dominating the ball and playing with the support of the home crowd, U23 Indonesia rarely created really good opportunities.
If we try to point out, there are two notable situations, which are the combination in the penalty area that ended with Rayhan Hannan's shot in the middle of the first half, and Achmad Maulana's breakthrough and back pass to Jens Raven for a backheel early in the second half. The rest, they only expected the breakthrough created by the throw-ins that poured straight into Robi Darwis' goal. Although it was a bit difficult, the tight, disciplined defense of U23 Malaysia successfully neutralized it.

However, after observing from the VIP area, President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) Erick Thohir still saw positive points. "It is true that we did not finish well. Both Raven and Hokky Caraka failed to take advantage of the opportunities they had. But overall, the style of play of U23 Indonesia has taken shape and is organized," he said.
Looking back at the three matches at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, it is easy to see the maturity of U23 Indonesia in building a style of play from the back and being calm in distributing the ball and changing positions. It should be noted that Garuda Muda did not play before the tournament started. Appointed in January, coach Vanenburg only spent time screening the squad and training the players.
The true strength of Indonesia U23 is still something of a mystery. In the three group stage matches, the Dutch strategist has not introduced the best squad. Instead, he sees this as an opportunity to evaluate the quality of the players and test different tactical options.

In the opening match against U23 Brunei, U23 Indonesia deployed a 4-3-3 formation with the trident of Rahmad Arjuna, Jens Raven, Rayhan Hannan and supported by the midfield trio Toni Firmansyah, Arkhan Fikri, Robi Darwis. Against the weakest opponent in the group, it was no surprise that they won 8-0 with Raven scoring a hat-trick.
Against U23 Philippines, the former EURO 1988 champion with the Netherlands changed everything, switching to a 4-2-3-1 system with a completely new squad. Despite the chaos and lack of smoothness in the attack, U23 Indonesia still won 1-0.
Against U23 Malaysia, Garuda Muda continued to play 4-2-3-1 with the combined formation from the first two matches. But surprisingly, coach Vanenburg pulled Firmansyah to the deepest position in midfield and pushed Darwis up to play freely. As a result, not only did Darwis pose a threat from throw-ins, he also provided many sharp passes and directly threatened the opponent with powerful shots.
These details show the depth of the squad as well as the many undiscovered qualities of U23 Indonesia. They are still improving themselves to get better, and this process can be accelerated if creative star Arkhan Fikri recovers from injury. Without a doubt, Garuda Muda will be a strong opponent of U23 Vietnam in their ambition to defend the championship.
Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn
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Source: https://tienphong.vn/tai-giai-u23-dong-nam-a-2025-u23-indonesia-co-dang-so-khong-post1762687.tpo
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