The U-17 Indonesian National Team Equipped Puzzle Companies
JAKARTA The U-17 Indonesian national team managed to complete the puzzle pieces after locking the tickets to qualify for the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup finals.
Garuda Muda qualified as one of the five best runners-up teams after playing a goalless draw against Australia U-17 in the last match of Group G on Sunday, October 27, 2024, 2024, WIB night.
This result makes the U-17 Indonesian national team follow in the footsteps of the previous three Garuda Squad categories, namely seniors, U-20, and U-23. The first two categories will appear in the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup and 2027 Asian Cup, while the U-23 has already played this year which reached the semifinalists.
PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir said that the historic achievements of the four Indonesian national teams in various categories in the Asian Cup finals proved that the level of Indonesian football was increasing.
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"This is truly a historical record because in all categories the Indonesian national team can compete in the main round of the Asian Cup. I appreciate the hard work of all players, the coaching team, officials, and administrators," he said.
The U-17 Indonesian national team played a total of three matches during the qualifying round by securing two wins and one draw.
The result made Garuda Muda collect a total of seven points. This amount is actually the same as that of Australia, which finished as group winners.
However, the victory against the North Mariana Islands U-17 was not counted in determining the best runners-up so that Indonesia U-17 legally only got four points in the standings.
Erick said that the success of the U-17 and U-20 Indonesian national teams was thanks to the cold hands of coach Nova Arianto and Indra Sjafri. Both are considered capable of investigating Garuda to make achievements.
"There is an improvement in the quality of our coach. This is what I really hope for, experienced coaches share knowledge with young coaches," said Erick.
Before Indonesia U-17, the senior Indonesian national team had already confirmed that they would qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup which will take place in January 2027 in Saudi Arabia.
The ticket was obtained after Jay Idzes and his friends advanced to the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers with the runner-up status of Group F under Iraq.
Meanwhile, the U-20 Indonesian national team locked tickets to the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup finals in China after winning Group F in qualifying.
At that time, the U-20 Indonesian national team competed with Yemen U-20, Timor Leste U-20, and the U-20 Maldives.
Indra Sjafri's team collected seven points after being able to win over Timor Leste and the Maldives and drew 1-1 with Yemen.