Indonesia coach Indra Sjafri, who helped Indonesia win the men's football championship at the 32nd SEA Games, prefers to face Thailand than Vietnam.
Indonesian coach Indra Sjafri (second from right) and his colleagues celebrate Indonesia's victory at the 32nd SEA Games. Photo: Hieu Luong
At the recently concluded SEA Games in Cambodia, Indonesia defeated Vietnam in the semi-finals and Thailand 5-2 in the 120-minute final, en route to winning the gold medal. It was Indonesia's first title since the SEA Games men's football competition was restricted to under-23 age groups.
In an interview with Bola Sport , coach Sjafri commented: "Actually, I like meeting Thailand more than Vietnam. I won against Thailand at the 30th SEA Games and the 2019 Southeast Asian U22 tournament."
The Indonesian coach also said that Vietnam is more difficult than any opponent in Southeast Asia. He added: "Vietnam has a collective spirit, knows how to provoke and has a high fighting spirit."
Agreeing with his coach, defender Alfeandra Dewangga said: "Vietnam is the toughest opponent at SEA Games 32. We know very well what they are like. They are a strong and united team."
In the 30th and 31st SEA Games, Vietnam won all three matches against Indonesia, including two 3-0 victories (one of which was the final in the Philippines in 2019). But meeting again at the 32nd SEA Games, they successfully "avenged" their revenge. They took the lead twice thanks to Pratama Arhan's strong throw-in. Both times, Vietnam equalized. In a 10 vs 11 situation because Arhan received a red card, Indonesia unexpectedly scored the decisive goal in the seventh minute of injury time.
Indonesian football expert Effendi Gazali said that Vietnam under new coach Philippe Troussier did not use the same provocative style as Park Hang-seo, but the remnants still remained. "Mr. Troussier did not point his finger at Indra Sjari like Mr. Park," Gazali said.
With the recent achievement at the SEA Games, Coach Sjafri was given full authority to manage the U23 team by President of the Indonesian Football Federation Erick Thohir, so that Coach Shin Tae-yong could focus on the national team. The immediate tasks for U23 Indonesia are the 19th ASIAD and the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers.
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