* Indonesia - Thailand: 8 p.m. Friday, 25/7, Hanoi time.
"Thailand is a quality opponent. They have good speed, with fast and skillful forwards and midfielders," Vanenburg began at the pre-match press conference at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on the afternoon of 24/7.
Then, the Indonesia U23 coach jokingly added, "We might need 13 players to play against them." This statement made the Dutch coach and those attending the press conference laugh.
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Coach Gerald Vanenburg directs during Indonesia's 0-0 draw with Malaysia in the final match of Group A of the 2025 AFF U23 Championship, at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia on 21/7/2025. Photo: Bola |
Coach Gerald Vanenburg directs during Indonesia's 0-0 draw with Malaysia in the final match of Group A of the 2025 AFF U23 Championship, at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia on 21/7/2025. Photo: Bola
The last time these two teams met was also in the semifinals of the 2023 AFF U23 Championship, with Indonesia winning 3-1. Before that, Indonesia also defeated Thailand 5-2 after extra time in the 2023 SEA Games final, highlighted by a major brawl at the end of the second half.
In this year's AFF U23 Championship, Indonesia started strong, defeating Brunei 8-0 in the opening match, before beating the Philippines 1-0 and drawing with Malaysia 0-0 to top Group A. Meanwhile, Thailand beat Timor Leste 4-0 and drew with Myanmar 0-0 to lead Group C.
Indonesia's most recent goal came from an own goal. The team's attack has been criticized for only scoring against weaker teams like Brunei. However, coach Vanenburg still believes strikers like Jens Raven and Hokky Caraka are performing well.
"We are not practicing penalties because our goal is to beat Thailand in 90 minutes," Vanenburg said. "Indonesia has had many good chances in every match and is optimistic that the goals will come soon."
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Indonesian striker Jens Raven (red shirt) is leading the 2025 AFF U23 Championship scoring chart with six goals. Photo: Hai Tu |
Indonesian striker Jens Raven (red shirt) is leading the 2025 AFF U23 Championship scoring chart with six goals. Photo: Hai Tu
Indonesia has two injury cases: Toni Firmansyah and Arkhan Fikri. However, Vanenburg is confident that he has a strong and deep squad.
"We are missing about three key players, but we have a good squad and are ready to play Thailand," Vanenburg said. "Tomorrow's match will be difficult, but the players will fight their best."
Indonesia has reached the final of the AFF U23 Championship twice, winning the title in 2019 after defeating Thailand 2-1. In 2023, the team drew 0-0 with Vietnam after 120 minutes before losing 5-6 on penalties.
Vanenburg came to Indonesia to work as an assistant to national team coach Patrick Kluivert before being transferred to lead the U23 team. Previously, his coaching career was not very prominent, mainly working in youth development in the Netherlands.
Vanenburg's playing career was more notable. The former striker, born in 1964, played 42 matches for the Netherlands national team. He was part of the same generation as the "Dutch trio" Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard, and was part of the Euro 1988 winning squad.
Hieu Luong
