The second semi-final of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship took place last night (July 25) and was a match between two teams considered to be the championship candidates: U.23 Indonesia and U.23 Thailand. This encounter also recreated the final of the 2019 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, the gold medal match of the 32nd SEA Games (May 2023 in Cambodia) and the semi-final of the 2023 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship. In all three of the above confrontations, the team from the archipelago country won, with scores of 2-1, 5-2 and 3-1 respectively. This time at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (Jakarta), U.23 Indonesia was still the team that enjoyed the joy. Coach Kim Sang-sik attended this match.
U.23 Indonesia won a thrilling victory
With home advantage, U.23 Indonesia entered the match with excitement, pushing up their formation from the start to pressure U.23 Thailand. In the first half of the match, the audience was probably surprised when the home team completely controlled the game. The ball possession rate (up to more than 70%) and the number of passes of Indonesian players were both superior to U.23 Thailand. On the other hand, the away team accepted to play with the "underdog" mentality. In the first half, the players of the "war elephants" played lurking, waiting for opportunities in sudden accelerations and trying to take advantage of set pieces. U.23 Thailand had a few situations threatening the opponent's goal, but overall the resistance from the Golden Temple team was quite weak against the energetic play of U.23 Indonesia. However, although the team of Dutch coach Gerald Vanenburg played better than their opponents, the efficiency was not really high. The passes or decisive shots of the U.23 Indonesia players were not sharp enough to penetrate the U.23 Thailand defense. In the first 45 minutes of play, the two most notable shots were two shots that hit the post and the crossbar, divided equally between the two teams.
Coach Kim Sang-sik attended the second semi-final match. He and his colleagues will have strategic calculations for the final match.
U.23 Indonesia won a dramatic victory
PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG
The game was not much different when the referee blew the whistle to start the second half. Attacking a lot but not being able to score, U.23 Indonesia finally accepted the cruel rules of football. U.23 Thailand remained loyal to the tight defense strategy, counterattacked quickly and "received the sweet fruit" first.
Star Yotsakorn Burapha spoke up at the right time to help the "war elephants" overcome difficulties. At this time, doubts were focused on Yotsakorn Burapha's opponent on the other side of the battle line, which was the naturalized Dutch striker Jens Raven (U.23 Indonesia).
The joy of the U.23 Indonesian players
Photo: Nguyen Khang
Jens Raven had a brilliant debut for Indonesia U.23 when he scored 6 goals against the weak Brunei U.23 team in the first match of the tournament. But after that, the striker born in 2005 almost disappeared... until the 84th minute of the semi-final match between Indonesia U.23 and Thailand U.23. It was Jens Raven who headed in a valuable goal at the end of the match to equalize 1-1, creating a turning point to help Indonesia U.23 win a ticket to the final.
After 2 extra periods, the score was still 1-1 and the match entered a penalty shootout. In the nerve-wracking penalty shootout, U.23 Indonesia showed their mettle and luck when they won 7-6 after 8 kicks, thereby advancing to the final against U.23 Vietnam on July 29.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thay-kim-tan-mat-chung-kien-u23-indonesia-nguoc-dong-vao-chung-ket-gap-u23-viet-nam-185250725233231389.htm
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