"I'm not making excuses for the defeat, but it's clear Indonesia didn't have its best squad. Many players in this age group weren't called up for the U23 Southeast Asian Championship," Thohir told Bola after Indonesia's 0-1 loss to Vietnam in the final on 29/7.

PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir. Photo: Bola

PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir. Photo: Bola

Unlike the senior national team, which primarily uses naturalized players and has reached the fourth round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Indonesia only used one foreign-born player in this U23 tournament: Dutch-born forward Jens Raven.

Raven was the tournament's top scorer, with 7 goals – 6 in the 8-0 group stage win over Brunei and one against Thailand in the semi-final. However, he was kept quiet in the final against Vietnam.

In yesterday's match, the hosts were also missing two key players, Arkhan Fikri and Toni Firmansyah, due to injury. According to Thohir, this was a factor in the defeat. "If you ask if this was our best squad, I can assure you it wasn't. We lost two of our best players, Fikri and Firmansyah. Both played important roles in midfield. Without them, Indonesia lost its balance in the middle of the park," he explained.

Indonesia had high hopes as hosts of this year's tournament. Before the final, Thohir rallied his players, urging them not to let Vietnam "walk all over them on home soil." The 37-year-old vice president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, predicted a 3-0 win for Indonesia.

But in reality, in front of 35,000 fans at Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia played with a lack of ideas. Apart from some rough tackles and throw-ins, they created few dangerous chances, ultimately losing 0-1.

Despite the loss, Thohir remained optimistic about the future of the young Indonesian players, whose average age is 20.7. "After this tournament, we will focus fully on the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in September. By then, I'm sure we'll have our best players available," he said.

In the 2026 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, Indonesia will host Group J alongside South Korea, Laos, and Macao. Vietnam will host Group C, playing against Yemen, Singapore, and Bangladesh.

Duc Dong