Getting To Know Indonesia's Opponent Candidates In Group A Of The U-17 World Cup

The U-17 national team squad attended a training session at the Sriwedari Stadium, Solo, Central Java, Friday (11/8/2023). BETWEEN PHOTOS/Mohammad Ayudha/hp (ANTARA PHOTO/MOHAMMAD AYUDHA)

JAKARTA - The results of the U-17 World Cup group draw at FIFA headquarters, in Zurich, Switzerland, last September, can be said to be quite profitable for the U-17 Indonesian National Team.

The reason is, the Bima Sakti troops avoided the tough group inhabited by the main powers of world football. Indonesia occupies Group A, which is "only" inhabited by Ecuador, Panama, and Morocco.

However, will it be easy for Indonesia to qualify from the group stage? It cannot be said so, because the three countries from South America, Central America, and Africa also want to get tickets for the round of 16.

The following is a review of the opponents of the national team and the potential for the Indonesian national team to qualify from Group A as reported by Antara, Sunday, November 5.

Ecuador

Ecuador, who will be the first opponent of the Indonesian national team in the upcoming November 10 match, is not a "new kid" at the U-17 World Cup. With the status of the second team in the U-17 South American Cup, this is Ecuador's sixth appearance at the U-17 World Cup.

They had pretty good provisions before flying to Indonesia. While hosting the U-17 South American Cup, Ecuador only lost to Brazil in the final, and had a record of four wins, three draws, and one loss during the tournament.

Ecuador's U-17 was created by local coach Diego Martinez, who has been in his position since July 2022.

At the international level, Martinez did not have much experience. Prior to dealing with the Ecuadorian U-17 national team, Martinez was a scout at Independiente club Del Valle and LDU, but his concoction led Ecuador to second place in the South American U-17 Cup last April, clearly cannot be underestimated.

One player who deserves attention in the Ecuadorian national team is MDU striker Michael Bermudez. Bermudez can present a varied dimension of attack when strengthening the Ecuadorian U-17 national team.

He collected four goals in the U-17 South American Cup, and is currently said to be being approached by a number of European clubs, including Borussia Dortmund.

So far, from five appearances at the U-17 World Cup, Ecuador has been able to qualify for the last eight twice. Of course, in this participation, Ecuador is determined to improve its record by qualifying for the top four for the first time.

Panama

Panama's participation record at the U-17 World Cup is not as flashy as Ecuador, but they are also not new children with the third participation at this young player's grand event.

The strength of Panama's own football is currently experiencing a revival. Their senior national team made their debut at the 2018 World Cup, before the national team, their daughter will also appear at the 2023 Women's World Cup.

But Panama's appearance at the U-17 World Cup was the first time after a decade absence. Panama previously reached its last 16 debut in 2018, when it was eliminated by host Mexico. Meanwhile, in 2020, Panama failed to qualify from the group stage.

Panama qualified for the U-17 World Cup by becoming the semifinalist of the CONCACAF U-17 Cup last February. They had no trouble qualifying for the group stage of the tournament, and won over Cuba in the last 16 before a 2-1 win over Honduras in the last eight.

Panama's move in the tournament was halted due to defeat to a team that later won, Mexico, in the semifinals.

Panama will be trained by US-born coach Mike Stump while competing in the U-17 World Cup.

Stump is noted to have coached a number of top Panamanian clubs and taken control of the U-17 national team's coaching in 2022.

One of the players who performed prominently in Panama's CONCACAF U-17 Cup was Kevin Walder. At the event, Walder collected four goals and stole the attention of many people by processing the ball and finishing skills.

Walder is also the only Panamanian player selected to join the U-17 World Cup team of the tournament.

Morocco

Compared to Ecuador and Panama, Morocco's performance record at the U-17 World Cup was not as flashy as the two previous countries. Morocco has only appeared in this event once, namely in 2013.

At that time Morocco topped the group standings inhabited by Uzbekistan, Croatia, and Panama, before being eliminated by Ivory Coast in the last 16.

Morocco has the right to participate in the U-17 World Cup after becoming the second-ranked team of the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup in Algeria earlier this year. Morocco topped their group standings filled with Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia.

They then beat the Algerian hosts in the quarter-finals, and Mali in the semifinals on penalties. But in the final match, Morocco was beaten by Senegal with a score of 1-2 despite having taken the lead for 80 minutes.

Morocco U-17 National Team coach Said Chiba is not a new name among North African football. Chiba had strengthened Morocco's national team for 40 matches, before becoming a coach.

He started his coaching career with the Qatar Sports Club and later worked as an assistant to Ezzai Badou in Morocco's senior national team. He then coached a number of Moroccon clubs such as Chahab Rif Al-Hoceima, Nahdat Zemamra, and Olympique Safi before carrying out their duties in the current U-17 national team.

Chiba has demonstrated its ability to nurture young players, protecting them from heavy pressure during the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations. He was also able to combine local talents with a number of Moroccan players who took part abroad.

For the players, Morocco is lucky to have many reliable players to fill the junior national team before then moving up to senior level. The two easiest examples are Sofyan Amrabat and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti who defended the Morocco national team in the U-17 Duia Cup a decade ago.

Meanwhile, one of the players who has received a lot of attention in the current Morocco U-17 team is goalkeeper Taha Benrhozil. This Mohammed VI Academy goalkeeper has proven his composure and reflex bore good fruit when appearing in the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

Indonesia

Surrounded by teams that are more experienced and have achievements, Indonesia that has qualified for the U-17 World Cup with the status of the host will certainly get many tough tests.

However, Indonesian football has recently been enjoying small revivals after years of slump. The Indonesian national team ended their years of fasting for gold medals thanks to success at the 2023 SEA Games and was able to qualify for the Asian Cup next year.

The Indonesian U-23 national team has also confirmed their qualifying for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. This is the first time the Indonesian national team has qualified for the tournament.

The U-17 Indonesian national team is handled by the coach of the Milky Way, who has been taking care of the team since 2019. As a coach, Bima has never led his team to become champions, but a good relationship with his foster children may be Bima's capital to boost team achievements.

Fortunately, coach Bima has captain Muhammad Iqbal Gwijangge who can be an extension of his hand on the field. Iqbal, who is a defender, has had quite a lot of experience at a young age.

Bima coaches will also receive support from a number of players who take part abroad such as Welber Jardim (Sao Paulo) and Amar Brkic (TSG Hoffenheim), making it interesting to see Bima mix a mix of local talents and descendants.

Opportunities to qualify for the round of 16:

By looking at statistics, it can be said that the two teams that have a great chance of qualifying for the next phase are Morocco and Ecuador as group winners and second-ranked teams.

But that doesn't mean Indonesia's chances of qualifying from the group are zero. As many as four of the best third-placed teams in the group phase still have a chance to qualify for the last 16, so if Indonesia was able to surprise in the first match against Ecuador and the second match against Panama, the Indonesian chance to step into the next stage would still be maintained.

2023 U-17 World Cup Group A Schedule:

10 November:

Panama vs Morocco (Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya)

Indonesia vs Ecuador (Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya)

13 November:

Morocco vs Ecuador (Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya)

Indonesia vs Panama (Bung Tomo Gelora Stadium, Surabaya)

November 16

Morocco vs Indonesia (Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya)

Ecuador vs Panama (Manahan Stadium, Solo).