long-awaited day has arrived. The Indonesian U-23 national team will finally face South Korea in their final Group J match of the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers at Gelora Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. Western Indonesian Time.
A life-or-death match—those are the perfect words to describe tonight's Garuda Muda match. They must win, period. They cannot afford a draw, let alone a loss.
Only with a win can the Young Garuda advance to the final round of the U-23 Asian Cup for the second time in history after the previous edition in Qatar in 2024. For next year's edition, the seventh edition of the U-23 Asian Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia in January 2026.
In addition to the 11 group winners from the qualifying round, the four best runners-up will advance to Saudi Arabia. However, the path for the four best runners-up has been closed, as four teams have already surpassed Indonesia in points so far in second place.
The four teams are China (Group D), Iran (Group I), Turkmenistan (Group A), and Yemen (Group C). All four teams have six points from two matches.
In the best runner-up standings , Indonesia sits in fifth place with four points. Given this situation, even a draw wouldn't save Kadek Arel and his teammates from qualifying for the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship.
To secure the victory, Indonesian U-23 national team coach Gerald Vanenburg urged his players to play with confidence and avoid nervousness. The Dutch coach also urged his players to adapt to the pressure, as it's impossible to eliminate pressure, as it's always present in football.
According to Vanenburg, they won't become great players if they can't overcome every pressure. The 61-year-old coach said this based on his experience as a player, when he played 660 times, scoring 168 goals and providing 156 assists .
In those hundreds of matches, Vanenburg won a string of prestigious trophies, including eight Dutch Erdeivisie trophies and one Champions League with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
