JAKARTA - Mathew Baker expressed optimism ahead of the second match of Group H of the 2025 U-17 World Cup. He admitted that he was sure that the U-17 Indonesian national team could make a surprise when facing the strong Brazilian U-17 team.
The Indonesian U-17 and Brazilian national teams will meet at Field 7, Aspire Zone, Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Friday, November 7, 2025, Indonesian time evening.
Before meeting Indonesia U-17, Brazil had an amazing result because they had just beaten Honduras U-17 with a score of 7-0. On the same day, Tuesday, November 4, 2025, Garuda Muda lost 1-3 to Zambia U-17.
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Despite the contradictory results, Mathew Baker believes that the Garuda Nusantara Squad will not give up. He believes that in football all possibilities can happen.
"Brazil is a big football country and we are aware of their team. Obviously, we will respect it. However, this is football."
"Everything can happen. Just because they (Brazil) have a better rank, then I see you can say better, no problem. Anything can happen," Mathew Baker said as quoted by FIFA+ on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
Currently, the U-17 Indonesian national team is in third place in Group H. Nova Arianto's team is in this position because the goal difference is better than Honduras.
Therefore, the match against Brazil is very crucial. If you can get points, both from a draw let alone a win, the U-17 Indonesian national team can avoid the caretaker position.
Positions in this standings are very important to determine the status of qualifying for the round of 32. If you become a group winner or runner-up, the U-17 Indonesian national team will automatically qualify for the final round.
While in third place, opportunities are still open. The reason is, the eight best teams ranked third out of the existing 12 groups are also entitled to advance to the round of 32.
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