By Ihsan Reliubun
Copyright tempo
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The U-23 Indonesia national team failed to qualify for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2026. They lost 1-0 to South Korea in the final match of Group J Qualification at Gelora Delta Stadium, Sidoarjo, East Java on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. U-23 Indonesia national team coach Gerald Vanenburg said his team had tried their best against South Korea. “Actually, we’ve done a lot, but we haven’t succeeded,” Gerald said after the match.Gerald admitted that physically his players were inferior to South Korea. “When we play against a team like Korea, which has very good physical strength, around the 60th minute, (the players) have encountered a lot of difficulties because they can’t compete physically,” he said.He said there needs to be a solution to address the players’ physical problems. “So, there must be a necessary and done solution to play against them,” said the Dutch coach. Gerald took charge of the U-23 national team after the Football Association of Indonesia did not extend the contract with Shin Tae-yong, the previous coach.In addition to the physical strength issue, Gerald said there were other factors that caused his team’s defeat, including the playing pattern. Nevertheless, he still praised the performance of Jens Raven’s team. “But actually, the kids we have here have the quality to play,” he said.Garuda Muda suffered a defeat due to South Korea’s sole goal scored by Hwang Doyun. Doyun’s ball found the net of the Red and White team when the game had only been running for six minutes. The U-23 national team managed to penetrate the opponent’s defense several times but failed to score.The 1-0 victory sent South Korea through to the final round of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2025 as the winner of Group J. Meanwhile, Indonesia, which collected four points from three matches, ranked second in Group J. However, Indonesia failed to qualify for the final round of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2026 because they were only in 10th place in the best runner-up standings. Only the top four second-placed teams qualify.Editor’s Choice: Indonesia U-23 Falls to South Korea, Misses Asian Cup QualificationClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
