Indonesia Secure Third Place at ASEAN U19 Championship

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia concluded its 2026 ASEAN Boys Championship campaign with a third-place finish after defeating Cambodia 1-0 on Saturday, June 13, 2026, as head coach Nova Arianto shifted focus toward preparations for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Muhammad Al Gazani Dwi Sugandi scored the match-winning goal in the 62nd minute, heading home a corner delivered by Isfandyar Abdillah to give Indonesia a narrow but deserved victory.

Despite claiming a podium finish, Nova Arianto stressed that the tournament's primary objective was to assess and update the team's development ahead of the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers in China. He welcomed the result but emphasized that significant improvements are still needed.

“There are still many aspects we need to improve, and we will continue to conduct evaluations so that we can become better in the future. Hopefully, this result will help us prepare for the Asian qualifiers in Laos,” Nova said after the match, as quoted by Antara.

The coach highlighted team chemistry and physical fitness as areas that fell short of expectations during the tournament. To address those shortcomings, Nova hopes the Garuda Nusantara squad will be given more opportunities to play international friendlies.

“With more friendly matches, we expect the players' understanding and teamwork to become stronger, and they will also gain more maturity. Hopefully, the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) can consider arranging more friendly matches for us,” he added.

Indonesia arrived in North Sumatra as defending champions after winning the 2024 edition, but their title defense ended in the semifinals following a 1-0 defeat to Australia.

The result serves as an early warning ahead of the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers, where Indonesia will again face Australia in the final Group H match on September 6. Before that, Indonesia is scheduled to meet Malaysia on August 31 and hosts Laos on September 3.

The winners of each qualifying group will advance directly to the AFC U20 Asian Cup finals, while the seven best runners-up from the eight groups will also secure qualification. ***