Indra Sjafri Expressed The Reason For Choosing India To Be The Opponent Of The U-23 Indonesian National Team Trial

Indra Sjafri assessed that India is a suitable opponent for Indonesia U-23 in preparation for the 2025 SEA Games (doc. Indonesian national team).

JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian national team, Indra Sjafri, revealed the reason for appointing India U-23 as the opponent of the trial ahead of appearing at the 2025 SEA Games. The quality of the potential opponent is one of the careful considerations.

The U-23 Indonesian national team is undergoing a training camp (TC) in the October 2025 period, where on the agenda there is also a two-test schedule. India is the opponent to be faced on October 10 and 13, 2025 at the Madya Stadium, Jakarta.

India was appointed as an opponent based on the choice of Indra Sjafri and the U-23 Indonesian national team coach team. Naushad Moosa's team was chosen because it has quality that can make Garuda Muda develop ahead of the 2025 SEA Games.

"India is a strong team, they (if) don't get me wrong almost qualifying for the Asian Cup (U-23 2026), lose the goal difference."

"We discussed in the coaching team that India is suitable to be used as a (against) so that we can see with the valid abilities of the players," said Indra Sjafri in a press conference quoted Friday, October 10, 2025.

In the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification in September 2025, India U-23 joined in Group H with Qatar, Bahrain, and Brunei Darussalam. From three matches, India won twice and lost once by collecting six points.

However, Muhammad Suhail and his friends failed to qualify for the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup finals because they lost to the United Arab Emirates in the best runner-up position.

Based on that record, Indra Sjafri saw that India was a tough team so that it could be a commensurate opponent.

By facing India, Indra Sjafri can simultaneously select 32 players who have been registered for the 2025 SEA Games until later they are reduced to 23 players.

"The context of this trial is so that I get as clear and detailed information about the 32 players who are called. Therefore, I will play all players, with two matches, namely the 10th and the 13th (October 2025)," said Indra.