Solo, The Indonesia Post – General Chair of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir is grateful that the Indonesian U-23 national team was able to maintain its winning tradition after qualifying for the 2025 U-23 Asian Cup finals for the first time in history.
This confirmation was obtained after Shin Tae-yong’s team recorded a 2-0 victory over Turkmenistan U-23 in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup Group K qualifying event at Manahan Stadium, Solo, Tuesday (12/9).
This result led Indonesia to qualify for the final round of the U-23 Asian Cup which in this edition will be held in Qatar from April 15 to May 3 because they topped Group K with a perfect 6 points from two matches.
“Thank God, the U-23 national team’s winning tradition continues. After the 2023 SEA Games gold, the AFF U-23 finalists, the positive trend continues in the U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers. Let’s maintain the winning mentality and tradition in Qatar,” said Erick at the Manahan Stadium, Solo, Tuesday.
The final round of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup is a qualifying route to the 2024 Paris Olympics. This, said Erick, means that the U-23 national team’s next mission is to reach the semifinals of the 2025 U-23 Asian Cup so that they can qualify to play in the Olympics.
The best three from the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup will qualify directly for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the remaining one ticket will be obtained by the fourth-placed team which will then undergo a qualifying match first.
“There is nothing impossible in football. Indeed, the struggle in Qatar is not easy. “However, with a winning mentality that doesn’t want to give up, we can continue this winning tradition to reach the 2024 Paris Olympics,” said Erick.
The man who also serves as Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) emphasized that to achieve optimal targets in Qatar, the Indonesian U-23 national team must focus. He also added that he asked the players not to be complacent after qualifying for the U-23 Asian Cup finals.
“This winning mentality must be maintained regardless of the opponent. “Today it might be Turkmenistan, tomorrow in Qatar we have to maintain the same mentality, no matter whether the opponent is Japan or South Korea,” stressed Erick.
In the era of Erick’s management at PSSI, the Indonesian national team recorded a series of very good results. Starting with the success of the U-19 national team in performing well in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup, they were able to compete closely in the group stage by finishing in third place even though they were in the same group as Uzbekistan and Iraq, both of whom later became champions and runners up of the competition.
The positive trend continued at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, where the 32-year wait for the national team to win was successfully completed with the Indonesian national team successfully winning a gold medal.
In the AFF U-23 Cup, the national team became runners up by only losing on penalties in the final round against Vietnam at the end of last August.
Now in the qualifying event for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, the national team performed perfectly in two matches, scoring a total of 11 goals and conceding no goals.
Meanwhile, at the senior level, the positive trend for the Indonesian national team has achieved the best FIFA ranking in the last 12 years. (mhn/bbs)
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