Guam Coach Beware Of The Quality Of The Indonesian U-17 National Team: We Must Work Hard

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - National team U-17 coach Guam Samuel San Gil said that his squad was wary of the quality of Indonesia in Group B Qualifying the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup. "I know Indonesia won their last tournament. So we have to work hard to deal with Indonesia," Samuel said at a press conference in the Sentul area, Bogor, quoted from Antara, Saturday, October 1. Indonesia became the champion in the 2022 AFF U-16 Cup last August. According to Samuel, this shows that the team nicknamed Garuda Asia is a tough squad. For this reason, the coach from Guam asked his players to focus throughout the match when meeting Indonesia on Monday, October 3. "We have to respect Indonesia, like all opponents. Because, when we don't respect, it can be a moment of defeat," said Samuel. Samuel considers Indonesia to complete the fierce competition in Group B which is also filled by Malaysia, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He felt that Guam was surrounded by experienced opponents who had gone through tournaments as well as international matches. Guam dianggap Samuel belum memiliki pertandingan kompetitif yang cukup sebagai persiapan meski mereka sempat melatikan dan berguji coba melawan tim- tim lokal di Amerika Serikat (AS) pada Juli 2022. However, team U-17 captain Guam Erwin Manibusan Jr confirmed that he and his colleagues were ready to compete in the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers. Their first match was held on Saturday (1/10) against the UAE. "We are looking forward to it because we don't have many opportunities to compete at this level," said Erwin. The series of Group B matches for the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup Qualification will take place on October 1-9, 2022 at Pakansari Stadium, Cibinong, Bogor Regency. The 2023 U-17 Asian Cup Qualification was attended by 44 countries divided into 10 groups. Later, the group winners and the second-ranked fifth place is entitled to appear in the final round with the host of the 2023 U-17 Bahrain Asian Cup.