Tips For Indra Sjafri Facing Vietnam In The Semifinals Of The 2023 SEA Games

Indonesia U-22 national team coach Indra Sjafri (second from the right) and his staff watched Thailand's match against Vietnam in the 2023 Cambodian SEA Games Group B Preliminary

JAKARTA The coach of the Indonesian U-22 national team, Indra Sjafri, directly peeked at Vietnam's last match against Thailand in the group stage to prepare his team to play the 2023 SEA Games semifinals.

Indra saw the Group B match which took place at Prince Stadium, Phnom Penh, Thursday, May 11, that night, together with PSSI Secretary General Yunus Nusi and Bima Sakti's coaching team, Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, Eko Purjianto, and Yeyen Tumena.

"Tonight we witnessed the match between Thailand and Vietnam which ended in a draw. We are ready to fight Vietnam later," said Indra Sjafri as quoted by the PSSI website.

A 1-1 draw with Thailand made Vietnam runner-up in Group B. This position automatically ensures that Vietnam will face Indonesia, which is the winner of Group A in the semifinals.

Indonesia itself finished as group winners after performing well in four preliminary matches. The Indra Sjafri squad managed to secure maximum numbers after winning all matches.

"Today we are undergoing recovery training at the hotel. Tomorrow we will prepare for strategic and tactical training ahead of the semifinal match," said Indra.

The semifinal match will take place at the National Olympic Stadium on Saturday, May 13 tomorrow. Indonesia has an unpleasant record when meeting Vietnam at the SEA Games.

In the previous edition of 2021, Indonesia was defeated by Vietnam (who was then the host) 0-3 in the group round. The Garuda Muda troops then lost to Thailand in the semifinals.

Indonesia itself has been fasting for a gold medal in the SEA Games football sport for a long time. The last time Indonesia was able to climb the highest podium was in Manila 1991 or 32 years ago.

After that, Indonesia has returned to the final four times, including in 1997, 2011, 2013, and 2019. However, Garuda has always failed to get a gold medal on the four occasions.