Indonesia's schedule at the 2026 AFF U-17 Cup, Timor Leste as the opening opponent

JAKARTA - The Indonesian U-17 National Team will start their fight in the 2026 AFF U-17 Cup (ASEAN U-17 Boys' Championship) by facing Timor Leste.

In the 2026 AFF U-17 Cup, Indonesia U-17 is included in Group A with Timor Leste, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The group champion will have the right to directly qualify for the semifinals, while the second place must compete for the best runner-up.

Under the direction of Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, Garuda Muda is expected to win convincingly in their first match. The reason is, a good record will be a capital for the next match against Malaysia and Vietnam.

The 2026 AFF U-17 Cup will be a preparation event ahead of the 2026 U-17 Asian Cup which will take place in May 2026. Indonesia U-17 has a status as a participant in the 2026 U-17 Asian Cup because they qualified for the quarter finals in the previous edition.

In addition to Garuda Muda, the 2026 AFF U-17 Cup was also attended by a number of teams that have qualified for the 2026 U-17 Asian Cup such as Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar.

In the previous edition, the Indonesian U-17 National Team, which is still coached by Nova Arianto, finished in third place. The title was won by Australia U-17 after defeating Thailand U-17 through a penalty shootout with a score of 8-7 in the final match.

Meanwhile, the 2026 AFF U-17 Cup will start on Saturday, April 11, 2026, but Indonesia will only play the first match against Timor Leste on Monday, April 13, 2026.

This first match will be held at the Gelora Joko Samudro Stadium, Gresik, East Java, with the start of the match starting at 19.30 WIB.