Failed In The 2025 AFF U-23 Cup, Gerald Vanenburg Will Not Handle Indonesia U-23 At The 2025 SEA Games

JAKARTA - Gerald Vanenburg will not handle the U-23 Indonesian national team for the 2025 SEA Games. This situation occurred after the 0-1 defeat of Garuda Muda to Vietnam U-23 in the 2025 AFF U-23 Cup final.

The news about Vanenburg's continuation of his career with the U-23 Indonesian national team was conveyed directly by the coach after failing at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

According to the Dutch coach, he will again coach the U-23 Indonesian national team at the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification event.

"About the 2025 SEA Games, they said that it wasn't something I was working on. I was assigned to the U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, so I'm going to try to win that," Vanenburg said after the match.

On another occasion, PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir also stated the same thing. He discussed the continuation of Vanenburg's work.

"Later we will discuss with the National Team Agency. What is certain is that for (Kualification) AFC, (the leader) Gerald," said Erick Thohir when asked if Vanenburg would become the coach of the U-23 Indonesian national team at the 2025 SEA Games.

The 2026 U-23 Asian Cup qualification will take place on 3-9 September 2025. The U-23 Indonesian national team is in Group J with Laos, Macau, and South Korea.

The U-23 Indonesian national team acted as the host in the qualifying match which will take place at the Gelora Delta Sidoarjo Stadium.

The Garuda Muda squad will face Laos on September 3, 2025, followed by Macau on September 6, 2025, and finally meet South Korea on September 9, 2025.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Thailand SEA Games, which are planned to take place from 3-18 December 2025, have no group draw yet. The sustainability of the SEA Games at the end of this year is also still in question regarding the war between Thailand and Cambodia that broke out last week.