Chairman of the All Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir is targeting the Indonesian U-23 national team to become champions in the 2025 ASEAN U-23 Championship tournament which will take place in Jakarta and Bekasi on July 15-29.
This was said by Erick after he participated in the draw for the group stage of the tournament formerly known as the AFF U-23 Cup which was held in Bali on Friday. In this draw, Indonesia is in the same group as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei Darussalam in Group A.
"The target in the AFF U23 is to be champions, especially since two years ago we were finalists (2023)," said Erick, quoted from the official PSSI website, Friday.
Indonesia itself has been a champion in this tournament, namely in the 2019 edition in Cambodia. At that time, Indonesia, coached by Indra Sjafri, defeated Thailand 2-1 in the final.
When asked how he felt watching the competition in Group A, Erick said he missed meeting Malaysia. The last meeting between Indonesia U-23 and Malaysia U-23 took place in the same tournament in 2023, when the Garuda Muda team lost 1-2 in the Group B preliminary round.
"I've missed meeting the neighboring country's team. It's been a long time since we played against Malaysia, and make sure the GBK Stadium is full. The Philippines is also a good team," said Erick.
Meanwhile, the man who is also the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises also said that ASEAN U-23 is a good opportunity for coach Gerald Vanenburg and his players to prove themselves before playing in the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup qualification event which will be held next September.
In the qualification held on September 1-9, Indonesia acted as the host and entered Group J with South Korea, Laos, and Macau. Meanwhile, South Korea itself was the country that was eliminated by Indonesia in the quarter-finals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar.
"This is also a good opportunity for coaches and players to compete in two important tournaments that are close together. Moreover, our target in the U23 Asian Cup Qualification is to also qualify to repeat our achievement of becoming a semifinalist in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar," added Erick.
A total of 44 teams will participate in the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification. The 44 teams are divided into 11 groups. They will compete for 15 tickets to qualify for the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia, January 2026. The group winners are certain to qualify, while the other four tickets are contested by the best runner-up teams.
