U23 Indonesia and the 38-year 'ghost' at Bung Karno

Indonesians are haunted by poor performance every time their team plays the final at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta.

Gelora Bung Karno home ground is a nightmare for Indonesian football teams.

This is where the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship between host U23 Indonesia and U23 Vietnam will take place at 8:00 p.m. on July 29. At the same time, this match with U23 Vietnam will be the 9th final match that an Indonesian team will participate in at the stadium built in 1962.

Playing at the “holy land” of Gelora Bung Karno is always a great honor for any football player in the archipelago country. However, the Indonesian national team at all levels, including the youth team, is haunted by a series of unimpressive results every time they play the final at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

At all team levels, Indonesia has only won 1 out of 8 finals that have taken place at SUGBK Stadium.

Indonesia’s only win in an official SUGBK final came in the 1987 SEA Games, when they beat Malaysia in the final. The winning goal for Indonesia was scored by Ribut Waidi in extra time. That means for the past 38 years, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium has been a ghost in the minds of Indonesian fans.

In fact, the Indonesian national team won the Independence Cup finals held in 1987, 2000 and 2008 at this very stadium. However, those victories are not counted in official statistics because the tournament is not part of the tournament system recognized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and is no longer held.

Source: https://znews.vn/u23-indonesia-va-bong-ma-38-nam-tai-bung-karno-post1572436.html