Never Consider Remeh Opponent, U-22 Indonesian National Team!

JAKARTA - The 2023 SEA Games group stage draw will be completed on Wednesday, April 5. The U-22 Indonesian national team gets a light group.

Indonesia is in group A with the hosts Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Timor Leste. While Group B will contain Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Laos.

The U-22 Indonesian National Team coach for the 2023 SEA Games, Indra Sjafri stated, there should be no thoughts to underestimate the opponent.

The reason is, they will not only face the quality of the opponent, but also a busy schedule.

"I always talk to the players, whoever the opponent is, we must remain focused, remain vigilant, and continue to work hard to be the best," said Indra Sjafri on PSSI's official website, quoted on Thursday, April 6.

"In group A there is the host Cambodia, they have improved their football development and showed a much better quality of the game than before," he explained.

For that, Indra will prepare his team as well as possible. He didn't want to just stick to the draw results.

"Of course, apart from the most important drawing results, it is how the team prepares for the SEA Games itself. We focus on completing the four matches in the preliminary round well, then stepping into the semifinals, continuing to qualify for the final and achieving the best results," said Indra Sjafri.

The former Bali United coach believes that his team can fulfill the ambition to win a gold medal that has not been felt for a long time. The last time the Red and White Squad won gold was at the 1991 SEA Games Manila.

"God willing, with good preparation, the U-22 team can achieve the desired target. Of course, please pray from all Indonesian people, hopefully what we dream of can be achieved, namely the gold medal," he added.

The 2023 SEA Games will be held on May 5-17, 2023. However, for the football sport, it will start first on April 29, 2023.