Indonesian U-17 national team coach Nova Arianto admitted that his team learned a lot from the 2025 Independence Cup after facing three fellow 2025 U-17 World Cup participants, namely Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Mali.
Of the three matches, Indonesia drew 2-2 against Tajikistan, then won 2-0 against Uzbekistan, and ended up losing 1-2 to Mali.
"The players definitely need this trial so they can continue learning and developing. So, they can be ready for the 2025 U-17 World Cup. We can see that the quality of Mali, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan is very, very good," said Nova.
"I'm very pleased that we've learned so much. Finally, we can evaluate this so we can do better in the future," he added.
When asked what his impression was against Mali, he expressed his gratitude to the players.
Before the match, Shin Tae-yong's former assistant on the senior national team told his players that facing Mali was a rare opportunity and that they must make the most of it.
