September 8, 2025 | 01:28 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Chair Erick Thohir has called on Indonesia’s U-23 national team to give their best performance when they face South Korea in the final Group J match of the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers.
The decisive game will be played at Gelora Delta Sidoarjo Stadium on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 07:30 PM WIB.
Erick delivered the message directly to the Garuda Muda players, encouraging them to remain focused and united. “We must be ready to fight for Indonesia in the match against South Korea,” he said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
South Korea, coached by Lee Min-sung, currently tops Group J with six points after two straight victories, scoring 12 goals without reply, five against Macau and seven against Laos. The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship winners are seen as strong favorites in the group.
Indonesia sits in second place with four points from a win and a draw. Erick acknowledged the challenge ahead, stressing the need for teamwork, discipline, and sharpness.
“They must play as one team, be disciplined, and seize every opportunity, no matter how small,” said Erick, who also serves as Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.
Coach Gerald Vanenburg echoed the sentiment, urging his players not to dwell on their 5-0 win over Macau and instead focus fully on South Korea. “This is the moment when we cannot be too happy or celebrate for too long. We must forget about the previous match and think only about Korea,” the Dutch coach said after Friday’s victory in Sidoarjo.
From the qualification round, 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will advance to the seventh edition of the AFC U-23 Championship final round, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in January 2026.
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