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Indonesia’s U-22 football team made history last night, beating Thailand 5-2 after extra time to win gold at the Southeast Asian games for the first time since 1991.
Erick Thohir, Chairman of the Indonesian FA (PSSI), was in attendance at last night’s game in Cambodia and was captured celebrating the victory from the stands.
‘Today, the Indonesian national team showed what it really means to rise up’, Thohir said. ‘Congratulations and go celebrate the results of your struggle’.
Indonesia were two goals to the good at the interval before a Thai fight back took the final to extra time with literally the last kick of the game.
Regardless, the Red and Whites renewed their lead and then tripled it to win gold after 120 minutes of heated action – Thailand ended the game with just eight players.
Football at the SEA Games is limited to players under the age of 22, but there’s no doubt that Indonesia has exceeded expectations by winning the 2023 men’s event.
The archipelago nation stands at just No. 149 in the current FIFA rankings, behind the Philippines, Malaysia, semi-finalists Vietnam, and co-finalists Thailand.
Indra Sjarfi, the U-22’s manager, stressed the national importance of his side’s six wins at the SEA games and ultimate victory.
‘Hopefully this [victory] will be a unifier and make us stronger, and Indonesian football will rise’, Sjarfi said in the wake of the final.
This from a team that had to withdraw from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship in February 2022 after a number of Indonesia’s players tested positive for COVID-19.
The national game seems to have changed course under the direction of President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and Erick Thohir, who was appointed to head up PSSI by Jokowi in February of this year.
PSSI and Thohir’s stated intention has been to focus on professionalising the national teams, optimising both their physical and mental preparation, as well as rooting out corruption at all levels of the game via an independent financial audit.
The nation still aspires to host a major international tournament and the progress of its teams, alongside governance reforms at home, have made this a very real possibility.
