U22 Indonesia will find it difficult to keep the gold medal if it lacks 'European quality' at SEA Games

Indonesia becomes mediocre without European players.

At home, confidence is still high: media and fans see Indonesia U22 as a symbol of the rise of the country's football, further reinforced by the national team reaching the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, an achievement no ASEAN team has achieved.

Previously, the Indonesian Olympic team also reached the semi-finals of the 2024 U23 Asian Cup and almost won a ticket to the Olympics. But that halo is in danger of becoming an illusion in Bangkok, where Indonesia realized that they no longer possess the strong enough quality to defend the title.

Glory is no longer a fulcrum

The impressive achievements of Indonesian football at the national team level largely come from the strong wave of naturalization. In the squad that made history in the World Cup qualifiers, more than half of the pillars are players of European origin, with good physique and tactical thinking, trained in a modern football environment. But the SEA Games is a different playground when the source of high-quality naturalized players is no longer there. When returning to the original, more internal strength, Indonesia can no longer maintain its superiority.

U22 Indonesia brought to Bangkok (Thailand) 4 rare stars playing in Europe: Ivar Jenner of Utrecht, Marselino Ferdinan who is playing for Trencin on loan from Oxford United, Mauro Zijlstra (FC Volendam) and Dion Markx (Top Oss). These are real talents, who have shown great potential in the continental arena.

The manager of the Indonesian national team, Mr. Sumardji, confirmed that the two midfielders who are playing in Europe, Jenner and Marselino, have been approved by their clubs to join the Indonesian U22 team. This is considered a “heavy weapon” that coach Indra Sjafri has long expected.

Marselino has been an irreplaceable pillar of the Indonesian team for the past two years, while midfielder Jenner has also shown significant progress in the Dutch league. The cases of striker Zijlstra and defender Markx were not mentioned by Mr. Sumardji.

However, football is a team game, and the rest of the squad does not bring peace of mind. This was clearly revealed in the U23 Asian qualifiers when Indonesia failed to pass the group stage, despite previously reaching the semi-finals of the U23 Asian Cup 2024.

The ups and downs reflect a deeper reality: Indonesia does not have a quality successor after the recent successes. They have an excellent generation that won the 2023 SEA Games, but the next generation is not guaranteed to inherit.

Just a few players from Europe is too little for Indonesia.

When the opponent is stronger and Indonesia no longer has the advantage

The difficulty for Indonesia also comes from the context of this year's tournament. Thailand, as the host, entered the SEA Games with the goal of regaining regional supremacy after the fall in Cambodia.

Vietnam has also come back strongly after a period of lack of momentum under the late Park Hang-seo era. Under Kim Sang-sik, Vietnam won the AFF Cup and the U23 Southeast Asian Championship, while also showing stability in youth training. Both rivals have the depth of human resources and the foundation of system development, something Indonesia lacks.

If we look back at the defeat of U23 Indonesia against Vietnam at the U23 Southeast Asia tournament held in Jakarta, the picture becomes even clearer. Despite having the home field and a force considered the best in Southeast Asia, Indonesia still lost due to lack of cohesion and dependence on a few outstanding individuals. That shows that the young team of the archipelago country lacks the accumulation of technical and tactical skills, something that Vietnamese and Thai football have continuously built over many years.

From reaching the semi-finals of the U23 Asian Cup 2024 to losing to Vietnam in the final of the U23 Southeast Asia, it shows that Indonesia's youth football has declined a lot, partly because they only use domestic players in the Southeast Asia youth tournament. Learning from experience, U22 Indonesia brought 4 players playing in Europe to the SEA Games, but will that be enough to revive the team? It should be remembered that with the above European names, Indonesia just failed in the U23 Asia qualifiers despite playing at home.

Glory is no longer a fulcrum

When the opponent is stronger and Indonesia no longer has the advantage

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