AFF U-19 Cup Semifinals: Indonesia Qualifies For Finals After Beating Malaysia 1-0

Indonesian U-19 National Team player Muhammad Alfharezzi Buffon (three from the left) collaborated after scoring a 1-0 victory over Malaysia (photo: dock. between)

JAKARTA The Indonesian national team qualified for the 2024 AFF U-19 Cup final after beating Malaysia with a narrow score of just one goal from Muhammad Alfharezzi Buffon.uel both teams took place at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (GBT), Surabaya, East Java, Saturday, July 27 night. Indonesia was forced to work hard throughout the match.

In this match, the U-19 Indonesian National Team Coach, Indra Sjafri, fielded two strikers, Arkhan Kaka and Jens Raven, in a 5-3-2 formation. Indonesia started aggressively, and Arkhan Kaka almost opened the scoring in the 3rd minute through a header from the throw-in, but his effort missed.

Figo Dennis also tried his luck with a long-range shot in the 11th minute, but the player number 7 missed the right side of the Malaysian goal. During the first 10 minutes, Indonesia controlled the game while Malaysia, known to be productive in the group stage, relied more on fast attacks.

The collaboration between Dony Tri Pamungkas and Kaka in the 33rd minute resulted in a corner kick. The opportunity from Muhammad Kafiatur's corner was greeted by Muhammad Alfharezzi Buffon, but his shot still soared.

After playing goalless in the first half, Indonesia actually had a flood of opportunities in the second half of the match. However, only in the 78th minute the Malaysian goal was broken.

In the second half, the U-19 Indonesian national team finally broke the deadlock in the 77th minute through Muhammad Alfharezzi Buffon's goal. The goal started from Welber Jardim's crossing on the right side of the Malaysian defense. Iqbal Gwijangge got the ball and his shot which was blocked by a Malaysian defender bounced towards Buffon. In the right position, Buffon made a first time shot that hit the post and bounced towards the Malaysian goalkeeper, Muhammad Haziq Aiman, who finally put the ball into his own net.

The goal started with Iqbal's shot which was blocked by a Malaysian defender and produced a throwing ball which Buffon immediately grabbed. Buffon's shot hit the Malaysian player's hand and became a goal.

Indra Sjafri's side will next face Thailand in the final match at the start of tomorrow's week. Thailand itself made sure to qualify for the final match after a narrow win over Australia through Dylan Paul Leonard's own goal.

The goal was made by a blunder by goalkeeper Dylan Peraic Cullen. He failed to control his partner's back pass so that the goal was stuck.

The 2024 AFF U19 Cup final match will take place at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, Monday, July 29 at 19.30 WIB. The duel was preceded by a third place between Australia vs Malaysia.

Lineup Of Players

Indonesia XI: Ikram Algiffari; Muhammad Mufli Hidayat, Kadek Arel Priyatna, Muhammad Alfharezzi Buffon, Muhammad Iqbal Gwijangge, Dony Tri Pamungkas; Figo Dennis, Muhammad Kafiatur, Welber Jardim; Arkhan Kaka, Jens Raven

Malaysia XI: Muhammad Haziq; Muhamad Ridzwan, Muhammad Shafizan, Muhammad Zachary, Ariff Safwan; Danish Hakimi, Muhammad Khalil, Izzat Muhammad, Muhammad Haykal; Pavithran Gunalan, Muhammad Naim