The Match Against The Philippines Is The Key To The Fate Of The U-22 Indonesian National Team At The 2023 SEA Games, Indra Sjafri: Capital For Success

Indonesia U-22 National Team Coach for the 2023 SEA Games, Indra Sjafri. (Photo: Doc. PSSI)

JAKARTA The U-22 Indonesian national team coach, Indra Sjafri, said the match against the Philippines in the first match of the 2023 SEA Games group phase in Cambodia would be the key match for the Garuda squad.

Indonesia will play their inaugural Group A match against the Philippines at the Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Saturday, April 29 tomorrow. This is one of the four matches that will be played by the Indra Sjafri squad in the preliminary.

Indra said he was looking for the composition of the best players to face the match against the Philippines.

"The first game is certainly a very important game for us. In every tournament, the first match is the initial capital to be successful next," Indra Sjafri told reporters, as quoted from a written statement.

Indra said that currently the condition of all the players he brought was quite good. Players who just joined at the end of the training camp such as Marselino Ferdinand are also in good health and can go through an adaptation process.

"All 20 players are healthy and fit, including Marselino. They can adapt and not jetlag anymore and tomorrow Alhamdulillah the players have recovered," he said.

Apart from the Philippines, Indonesia is in Group A with the hosts Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor Leste.

After fighting the Philippines, Indonesia will consecutively try out the strengths of Myanmar, May 4, Timor Leste, May 7, and Cambodia, May 10. The three matches were also played at the National Stadium.

Later, the two best teams from Group A and Group B will be entitled to tickets to the semifinals which will take place on May 13. Group B contains defending champions Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Laos.

So far, Indonesia has not won the SEA Games for 32 years. The last time the gold medal was won by the Garuda squad at the 1991 edition of the SEA Games which took place was in Manila.