Indra Sjafri Apologizes as Indonesia Fails to Make Asian Games 2023 Quarter-finals
Translator
Editor
29 September 2023 09:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indra Sjafri, the coach of Indonesia's U-24 national football team, apologized after his team failed to reach the quarterfinals of the Asian Games 2023. Indonesia lost to Uzbekistan in the round of 16 held at the Shangcheng Sports Center Stadium on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
Although they were able to keep up with their opponents during the 90 minutes of normal time, Sherzod Esanov broke through the Young Garuda squad's defense twice in the extra time (92' and 120+1'). It was the third time in a row that Indonesia lost in this phase (2014, 2018, 2022).
The Merah Putih team has never reached the quarterfinals since the Asian Games football set the age limit for men's teams under 23 in 2002.
“We apologize to the Indonesian people. The players are determined to achieve more than what was achieved in the previous Asian Games. All the players were focused on getting into the top 8. They tried their best but could not achieve that,” Indra said in a post-match press conference.
Indra assessed that the U-24 national team had actually played well and was able to keep up with Uzbekistan. However, a loss of focus in extra time undid all the hard work.
Indra would also step down as coach of the U-24 team as the young squad was only assembled specifically for this Asian tournament and would be disbanded after the games ended.
“After this, I have a special task, which is to prepare the U-20 national team for the 2025 World Cup,” Indra Sjafri said.
RANDY FAUZI FEBRIANSYAH
Editor's Choice: Indra Sjafri Tapped as Coach of National Football Team for SEA Games 2023
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
