Indonesian U-23 Vs Qatar National Team: Waiting For Debutance Surprise

The U-23 Indonesian national team will face Qatar in the inaugural match of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup (doc. PSSI).

JAKARTA - The opening party for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup will bring together the U-23 vs Qatar Indonesian national team at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday, April 15, 2024.

Indonesia is the only team to make their debut in the U-23 Asian Cup or become the 25th team to appear since the first edition in 2013.

The debutant status clearly makes Garuda Muda seen as a dark horse. Moreover, Indonesian football is in the spotlight in Asia.

Shin Tae-yong's team made a surprise at the 2023 Asian Cup in February 2024 by qualifying for the first time to the knockout phase in history.

In addition to the slick appearance, the Indonesian national team at that time won praise for being a team with the youngest average age in the 2023 Asian Cup.

Shin Tae-yong's courage to play young players in the biggest championship in Asia is certainly a dangerous alarm for challengers in Group A, especially Qatar.

Moreover, almost half of the squad in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup is the 2023 Asian Cup dropout. They even appear regular in the senior national team.

No wonder, many football lovers are looking forward to the surprise that Shin Tae-yong's troops will give back.

However, the clashes between Indonesia vs Qatar are predicted to be tight. The hosts clearly want perfect points in front of their supporters.

This motivation will complicate the fighting spirit of Young Garuda who want to go far in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup on their debut.

Not to mention, Qatar is eyeing their first title in the tournament. So far, they have only managed to rank fourth (2016) and third place (2018).

Qatar juga berada di atas angin setelah mereka menjuarai Piala Asia 2023. The Maroon terlecut ingin mengawinkan gelar tahun ini.

Favoriteism deserves to lead to Qatar. Apart from being in the spotlight of Asian football, since 2018 they have succeeded in producing classy young players in the U-23 Asian Cup.

The name Almoez Ali, who now lives in the senior team, has stolen the attention of the 2018 Asian Cup. He became the top scorer with six goals

Akram Afif, who was also in the same class as Almoez, also impressed at that time. He scored three goals despite failing to bring Qatar to win in China. Both became important actors who brought Qatar to win the 2023 Asian Cup.

Armed with this record, it is not impossible for Qatar to give birth to a talented young player again in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

They can be a serious stumbling block for the new dusty Indonesia U-23. Moreover, Shin Tae-yong admitted that his preparations were not perfect because a number of names had failed to join considering that the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup was not the FIFA agenda.

However, the mentality of Shin Tae-yong's troops has been tested. Labeled not a leading team so that the U-23 Indonesian national team can appear burdenless.

Shin Tae-yong is also confident in the ability of his team to achieve the target of the knockout phase or semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

Forecast Formation Of Indonesia U-23

Ernando Ari (K); Kakang Rudianto, Rizky Ridho, Justin Hubner, Pratama Arhan; Arkhan Fikri, Ivar Jenner, Marselino Ferdinand, Witan Sulaeman; Rafael Struick, Hokky Caraka