Vanenburg's Debut In The U-23 Indonesian National Team Was Successful, But Did Not Want To Be Satisfied

JAKARTA - The U-23 Indonesian national team successfully defeated Brunei Darussalam with a landslide score of 8-0 in the first match of Group A of the 2025 AFF U-23 Cup at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, evening WIB.

The match also became the coach's debut, Gerald Vanenburg, leading his team in an official tournament.

Despite winning, the Dutch coach was not satisfied with his troops. There was a striking difference in the first and second rounds.

As is known, Garuda Muda managed to record seven goals in the first half. Meanwhile, in the second half, Jens Raven and colleagues only netted one goal.

"I think we played very well in the first half. The second half was not as good as the first, there were too many differences."

"However, overall I am satisfied. Of course we still have to develop, especially in the second half. We must be able to play at a higher level. We will develop every day," Vanenburg said in a press conference session after the match.

In other words, Vanenburg wants his students to display a consistent game in every round.

You see, the next opponent, namely the Philippines and Malaysia, has the quality to injure the U-23 Indonesian national team.

One of Garuda Muda's players, Toni Firmansyah, emphasized that the result against Brunei was a provision to look to the next match with a stronger opponent.

"We are grateful to have three points (against Brunei). Hopefully it will be a provision for the next match. This result is thanks to the hard work of all the players and team officials," said Toni after the match.

Meanwhile, the Garuda Nusantara squad appeared dominant and continued to press the opponent's defense from the start. The U-23 Indonesian national team scored eight goals against Brunei through six goals from Jens Raven (2', 9', 30', 32', 39', and 62'), one goal from Arkhan Fikri in the 20th minute, and one goal from Rayhan Hannan in the 34th minute.

Jens Raven, who bought up six goals, did not expect him to make a big contribution.

"We played our game. I was happy with six goals. However, I didn't expect to score that many goals," he said.

The U-23 Indonesian national team will face the U-23 Philippines on Friday, July 18, 2025, before fighting Malaysia U-23 two days later.