Rolled Up In Malaysia 5-1, The National Team Is Difficult To Qualify For The U-17 Asian Cup

Malaysia's U-17 National Team footballer Muhammad Arami Wafiy (left) collaborated with his PHOTO/M Risyal Hidayat team-mates

JAKARTA - The Indonesian U-17 national team is difficult to qualify for the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup after being defeated by Malaysia with a score of 1-5 in the last match of Group B of the qualifying phase at Pakansari Stadium, Cibinong, Bogor, Sunday night. These results made Indonesia, which collected nine points from four matches, down to second place in Group B, while Malaysia locked the top of the standings with 10 points and earned the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup. Indonesia still has the opportunity to advance to the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup through a six-runner-upter path. However, it was difficult to realize because compared to 10 second-ranked rankings while in the 2022 U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers, the difference in goals for the Bima Sakti team had a large minus. In the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup Qualification, specifically for groups with five participants such as Group B, the result of the match with the fourth and fifth ranked teams did not count in the determination of the six best "runner ups". That means, Indonesia's victory over Guam 14-0 and Palestine 2-0 is ignored. Only the result of a 3-2 win over the United Arab Emirates and a 1-5 loss to Malaysia was calculated. That makes, among the 10 second-ranked qualifiers, Indonesia has three points with a goal difference of minus three. However, the exact results for the best six "runners" can only be seen after all the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers have been completed. In the match versus Malaysia, Indonesia, which only needed draw results to advance to the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup, actually appeared pressing from the start. In the second minute, Arkhan Kaka's striker hit the crossbar, then Muhammad Kafiatur Rizky's shot was parried by Malaysian goalkeeper Muhammad Farish Farhan five minutes later. After that, the control of the match was in the Malaysian camp. Relying on the wing, Malaysia scored its first goal in the 17th minute through Muhammad Zainurhaki Zain. Three minutes later, Muhammad Arami Wafiy doubled Malaysia's lead. The young squad "Harimau Malaya" then added another goal thanks to Muhammad Anjasmirza (23') and Muhammad Afiq Danish (27). Left behind by four goals, Indonesia was depressed and it made the centre-back and captain of Sulthan Zaky Pramana violate Muhammad Anjasmirza in the penalty box. Muhammad Arami Wafiy became the executor and carried out his duties well in the 39th minute. Malaysia also won five goals without reply in the first half. After the break, Indonesia barely had a dangerous chance in the Malaysian goal area. However, Arkhan Kaka managed to reduce the score to 1-5 in the 90+3 minute. There were no other goals after that, Indonesia lost 1-5 to Malaysia.