Qatar coach Abdallah Abu Zema acknowledged Indonesia's strength, after losing 1-4 and being eliminated in the group stage of the U23 Asia.
"Congratulations to Indonesia. They played an excellent game and deserved to win," coach Abdallah Abu Zema said after the match at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. "Our plan was to try to score first. If we did, the game would have turned in Jordan's favour. But we couldn't. After conceding the first goal, we let Indonesia completely dominate the game and couldn't fight back. There is no excuse for this defeat."
Coach Abdallah Abu Zema admitted that Jordan did not play as well as Indonesia in the final round of Group A of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship. Photo: AFC.
Before the final match of Group A, Jordan had one point, two points behind Indonesia. Coach Abu Zema's team had to win to get a ticket to the quarterfinals, while their opponents only needed a draw. Therefore, Jordan played an attacking game, with the highlight being long balls for Aref Haitham to accelerate on the left wing. "Number 7" had two chances in the first half, but could not beat goalkeeper Ernando Ari.
The game changed in the 21st minute when Amer Jamous kicked Rafael Struick in the penalty area, forcing Jordan to concede a penalty. Marselino Ferrdinan did not miss the opportunity, scoring the opening goal for Indonesia. In the 40th minute, the gap doubled when Marselino and his teammates coordinated, creating conditions for Witan to curl the ball past goalkeeper Ahmad Juaidi.
The two-goal gap discouraged the Jordanian players. In the 70th minute, they conceded another goal from Marselino. After scoring a goal thanks to a lucky shot from Waseem Al Riyalat, the West Asian team conceded another goal from defender Komang Teagu's header.
Jordan could not contain Marselino, allowing this player to leave his mark on three of Indonesia's goals. Photo: AFC.
Coach Abu Zema admitted that Jordan could not cope with Indonesia's flexible style of play, especially their ability to quickly switch from defense to attack. The coach pointed to the second goal as evidence when Indonesia only needed six passes from goalkeeper Ernando Ari to scorer Witan Sulaeman.
Abu Zema believes Indonesia is more experienced, as nine players have played for the national team at the 2023 Asian Cup. Of these, Marselino - the best player of the match, scoring one goal and having a hand in two others - is only 19 years old but has played 23 matches for the team. "My players played well in the previous two matches but were unlucky. In this match, the team did not play as planned and I, as the head coach, must take responsibility for the defeat. I would like to apologize to Jordanian fans. I take full responsibility for this bad result," Abu Zema admitted.
Jordan is a famous football team in Asia, recently winning the runner-up position in the 2023 Asian Cup. Their team is currently ranked 10th in Asia, 71st in FIFA, having ranked as high as 31st in 2004. However, their U23 team is not as strong as expected. Their peak was the bronze medal of the U23 Asian Cup, and reaching the quarter-finals of the Asian Games 10 years ago.
The AFC U23 Championship takes place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3, with 16 teams divided into four groups. Vietnam is in Group D with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Kuwait. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, where they will play a knockout match. The two finalists and the winner of the third-place match will go straight to the men's Olympic football tournament, while the fourth-placed team will compete against African representative Guinea. Watch Live Top Sports on FPT Play, at: https://fptplay.vn/ |
Lam Thoa
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