U23 Indonesia revealed many weaknesses

Indonesian football experts pointed out many weaknesses of coach Gerald Vanenburg and his team before the match against U23 Vietnam in the final of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship (taking place at 8:00 p.m. today, July 29).

U23 Indonesia has revealed many weaknesses in past matches - Photo: ANH KHOA

Lack of stability due to ball control play

Up to this point in the U23 Southeast Asian Championship, U23 Indonesia is the team with the best ball control with an average time of up to 71%. But this is also a problem for U23 Indonesia, because they control the ball mainly on their home field more than the opponent's field. Therefore, the pressure that coach Gerald Vanenburg and his team create on their opponents is not really great.

According to Bola newspaper, controlling the ball but mainly on the home field makes U23 Indonesia play unstable and reduces the surprise factor. This half-hearted ball control style is quite similar to what coach Philippe Troussier used to do with Vietnamese football.

Therefore, U23 Vietnam only needs to play focused, keep a good team distance, and it will not be difficult to neutralize the home team Indonesia's game. But the problem is that U23 Vietnam must be really patient, not impatient and accept to let the opponent control the game. From here, the Indonesian media requires U23 Indonesia to play more directly instead of just controlling the ball and passing it back and forth on the home field.

Physical weakness

But this requirement is not easy to meet because U23 Indonesia is facing a big problem with physical strength. Coach Gerald Vanenburg's players are not physically prepared for this year's tournament. This leads to a situation where many U23 Indonesia players can run the whole match, but there are also many players who are exhausted when the match has just passed the 70th minute. Therefore, many people question the physical training exercises of the U23 Indonesia coaching staff that seem to have not brought about the expected results.

Concerns about the physical condition of the U23 Indonesia players have increased as they have played one more match than the U23 Vietnam team and have just gone through a lengthy semi-final match with Thailand. It is clear that the U23 Indonesia team cannot be as fit as the U23 Vietnam team in the upcoming final match. Not being in the best condition makes it difficult for the U23 Indonesia team to play aggressively and use overwhelming strength against the U23 Vietnam team like in the past.

Correlation of strength between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia - Graphics: AN BINH

Uneven lineup

In addition, a problem that makes U23 Indonesia's playing style lack coherence is the large gap between the main players and the reserve players. Therefore, whenever they encounter a deadlock, U23 Indonesia has almost no effective alternative plan B. Coach Gerald Vanenburg has a headache because this imbalance can cause the quality of U23 Indonesia's playing style to decline at the decisive moment.

Without a quality reserve squad, U23 Indonesia may also be without many key players in the match against U23 Vietnam. Specifically, the midfield duo Toni Firmansyah - Arkhan Fikri are injured and are uncertain to play.

At the same time, striker Jens Raven, who scored 7 goals for U23 Indonesia at the tournament, is also facing similar problems. And whether Jens Raven will recover in time to play in the final match or not is still a question mark.

However, U23 Indonesia is considered to have a strong fighting spirit. They may not be able to win against their opponents, but it is also very difficult to lose. If the final match is decided on penalties, U23 Indonesia will have more advantages than Vietnam.

U23 Indonesia looks to throw-in "weapon"

One of the attacks that U23 Indonesia has fully exploited in this year's tournament is the throw-in straight into the opponent's penalty area. These throw-ins will create chaos for U23 Indonesia players to seize the opportunity to score. U23 Indonesia defeated U23 Philippines in the group stage with the only goal scored from a throw-in.

In the past, the U23 and the Vietnam national team also encountered many difficulties when facing this throw-in. Even the U23 Vietnam team under coach Philippe Troussier let the opponent score from throw-in situations. Therefore, coach Kim Sang Sik needs to have a plan to counter the throw-ins of the U23 Indonesia.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u23-indonesia-lo-nhieu-diem-yeu-20250729100702766.htm