Nervousness Eradicates Dream of Indonesian U-23 Champion
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MUHAMMAD IKHSAN MAHAR
Indonesia played below its best in the semifinals. A decline in the second half led to a failure to reach the final.
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DOHA, MONDAY — Indonesia U-23 coach Shin Tae-yong admitted that his team did not perform at their best in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup semifinal match against Uzbekistan, Monday (29/4 /2024), at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar. The mental situation and pressure from Uzbekistan caused the performance of "Young Garuda" to be anticlimactic.

In the match that ended 2-0 in favor of Uzbekistan, Indonesia failed to display consistent discipline throughout the game. Furthermore, their quick counter-attack transition play also failed, as seen throughout the more than 90 minutes of the match.

At its peak, the attack from Uzbekistan's substitute striker, Khusayin Norchaev, in the 68th minute shattered the spirit of Rizky Ridho and his friends. The situation was further aggravated by the own goal of left-wing defender Pratama Arhan in the 86th minute. Arhan miscommunicated with goalkeeper Ernando Ari who wanted to catch a loose ball from the header by a Uzbekistani player that hit the goalpost.

"My players were nervous from the beginning of the match. That made us unable to play as well as usual," said Shin in a post-match press conference on Monday night, WIB.

Indonesian players have been under acute tension since the kick-off. The intense pressure launched by Uzbekistan has made it difficult for Indonesian players to develop. The efforts of Garuda Muda to slow down the game tempo when in possession of the ball went well in the first half. Uzbekistan's attacks could still be restrained.

In the first half, Uzbekistan, nicknamed the "White Wolves", released 11 shots, with one aiming towards the goal, and made 253 passes with an 83 percent success rate. Uzbekistan was very dominant in ball possession, with a record of 83 percent.

On the other hand, Indonesia, who mostly stayed in their own defensive zone, only possessed 38 percent of the ball possession. With only two attempts, Garuda Muda failed to pose a significant threat to Uzbekistan's defense. On just two occasions, Indonesia was able to create opportunities to enter the penalty box of the Central Asian team.

Decrease

After halftime, Indonesia's performance tends to decline. The accuracy rate, which was at 74 percent in the first half, dropped to 70 percent in the second half of the game. Ivar Jenner and his colleagues were also only able to make 143 passes in the second half. This figure decreased from 155 passes in the first 45 minutes.

Also read: Defeated by Uzbekistan, Indonesia U-23's chances of going to the Paris Olympics are still open

Indonesia could only add two shots after halftime. However, not a single chance was created by Indonesian players that forced Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov to make a save. In other words, there were no shots on target created by Garuda Muda.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan remains consistent in controlling 63 percent of the ball possession. In terms of creating opportunities, Uzbekistan's game was able to improve in the second half of the game. They added 17 shots, three of which hit the target.

"I appreciate the hard work of our team members and players. Uzbekistan played well in creating opportunities, congratulations to them," said Shin.

Muhammad Ferrari, Indonesian center back, said that his teammates had tried hard to exert maximum ability in the match against Uzbekistan. Ferrari said there were moments in the match that ruined Garuda Muda's mood.

Also read: Indonesia vs Uzbekistan: ”Garuda Muda” Difficulty Developing Game in the First Half

My players were nervous from the start of the match. That made us not play as well as usual.

First, Ferrari's goal was disallowed in the 65th minute. The video assistant referee from Thailand, Sivakorn Pu-Udom, asked the main referee, Shen Yinhao, to check the replay of Ferrari's goal which started with Arhan's cross from the right side of the Uzbekistan defense.

From the perspective of one camera on the left corner of the White Wolves' defense, the Indonesian striker, Ramadhan Sananta, appears to be in an offside position. Some of the feet of the player from Persis Solo are an inch closer to the Uzbekistan goalkeeper.

Then, Pu-Udom also requested Yinhao to recheck the incident involving Rizky Ridho and Jasurbek Jaloliddinov in the 84th minute. In the replay, Ridho appeared to kick Jaloliddinov who was running towards him to disturb the control of the ball owned by Persija Jakarta defender.

"The referee's (decision) was not in our favor," Ferrari told AFC Media.

Also read: Supporting National Team to Paris, President Takes Time to Celebrate at the State Palace

Uzbekistan U-23 coach Timur Kapadze is happy that his team was able to show the best performance. Apart from winning, the White Wolves also maintained a record of not conceding a goal in five matches in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

"We know that we are a stronger team compared to our opponents and the players understand that. They feel the pressure to qualify for the Olympics because we have never participated in the Olympics before. There are a lot of anxieties, but in the end we won," Kapadze said in the press conference after the game.

Also read: Indonesia vs Uzbekistan, Shin Tae-yong Beware of the "White Wolf" Transition

"The final score should have been higher if we could have capitalized on all the situations and turned them into goals. We were too rushed in finishing our chances," he said.

Uzbekistan will face Japan in the trophy competition on Friday (April 3, 2024) at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Meanwhile, Indonesia will compete for the last direct spot to Asia against Iraq on Thursday (April 2, 2024) at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.