Indonesia ended Group A matches as a runner-up with a collection of 10 points. Indonesia's opponent in the semifinals will not be known until Group B completes its matches on Tuesday (3/1/2023).
By
I GUSTI AGUNG BAGUS ANGGA PUTRA
·5 minutes read
ANTARA FOTO/AKBAR NUGROHO GUMAY
Indonesian striker, Dendy Sulistyawan (second left), and his team-mates celebrate the goal he scored against the Philippines in the continuation of the Group A preliminary match for the 2022 AFF Cup football championship at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines, Monday (2/1/2023) evening . Indonesia won, 2-1.
MANILA, MONDAY — Indonesia regained supremacy over the Philippines thanks to a labored 2-1 victory in the 2022 AFF Cup Group A preliminary match at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, the Philippines, on Monday evening (2/1/2023). Despite the persisting problem when it came to delivering a decisive finishing touch, the Garuda team looked to be showing improvement in their performance. It was indeed a good omen for Indonesia for the next challenges as the competition will now enter the semifinals.
The win was quite encouraging, considering that Indonesia had lost its dominance over the Philippines that started in 2014. It was the year when Indonesia began to struggle against the regional minnows, which had previously been a pushover for Indonesia in the AFF Cup soccer championships.
The later stage has seen the Philippines building themselves into a nut that was difficult to crack. In three previous meetings, before last night’s encounter, the Philippines were able to pick up one win and force a draw twice.
During last night’s game, the synthetic grass-paved turf seemed to make it difficult for Indonesia to deal with the Philippines. Not getting used to the synthetic pitch, the players struggled in sprinting and keeping control of the ball. Goalkeeper Nadeo Argawinata was forced to exit early in the first-half after colliding with veteran Filipino player, Stephan Schroeck.
The Indonesian players looked unable to optimally recover their stamina, having taken a rest only less than three days before the match. The Philippines had six days to refresh themselves.
Despite the unfavorable situation, Indonesia was still able to overcome the Philippines, returning home with a valuable victory, which is expected to boost the players’ morale in the face of the semifinals.
During the match, Indonesian players showed restraint from rushing forward. They did not hurry to release long passes into the Philippines' defense area when attacking. Instead, they allowed themselves more time with ball possession in their own territory before moving forward.
A contrasting tactic was demonstrated by the hosts who often released passes and crosses straight to the goal area. “The Azkals” clearly tried to make the most of the physical advantage with their tall attackers, Schroeck and Kenshiro Daniels, being the target inside the box.
Indonesia was first to score with striker Dendy Sulistyawan's header in the 21st minute. Marselino Ferdinan doubled Garuda's lead with a well-measured shot in the 43rd minute. It was the 18-year-old's first goal with the senior team in the AFF Cup.
The Philippines’ goal was scored by Sebastian Rasmussen in the 83rd minute.
ANTARA FOTO/AKBAR NUGROHO GUMAY
Indonesian player Ricky Richardo Kambuaya (right) fights for the ball from Filipino player Mark Andrew Hartmann (left) in the Group A preliminary match for the 2022 AFF Cup football championship at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines, Monday (2/1/2023) ) night. Indonesia won, 2-1.
Flop at finishing touch
Indonesia should have scored more goals with the players managing to create six chances on target. However, they flopped in executing the finishing shot. It appeared to be their problem, which persisted from the very first match. Indonesian coach Shin Tae-yong looked disappointed at the pitfalls, saying his players did not show significant progress in the final execution.
“It has been since the first game, when there was a perfect opportunity [to score a goal] but they failed to capitalize. I urged the players to be more clinical [at the box] to score goals when we get opportunities. This issue has to be evaluated,” Shin said in a post-match press conference.
In addition to the flops in the finishing shot, Garuda players showed poor teamwork, which resulted in goal chances being squandered due to late passes in favorable situations. This was to blame during the Philippine game particularly on Ricky Kambuaya for his hesitation to pass the ball to unmarked Ilija Spasojevic with only the goalkeeper in the way. Instead, Ricky chose to keep dribbling the ball in a venture for a solo run only to end up being snuffed by the last defender.
Generally, Indonesia was able to show the depth of its game throughout the group stage matches. All but one of the 23 players Shin put on the team list have been given minutes to play during the ongoing 2022 AFF Cup. The third goalkeeper, Muhammad Riyandi, is the only player Shin has not played.
Playing against opponents with different starting 11 line-ups, resulted in Indonesia being unbeaten, winning three times and drawing once. Indonesia's team balance was rarely disturbed, with reserve players showing no significant gap in quality compared with the starters.
Vietnam stands the best chance of winning the group with underdog Myanmar being its opponent in the final match of Group B.
Indonesia ended Group A matches as a runner-up with a collection of 10 points. Thailand won the group with the same collection of points but edged Indonesia on goal difference. The "Elephant of War" scored 13 goals and conceded two, while Indonesia booked 12 goals against three.
Indonesia's opponent in the semifinals will not be known until Group B completes its matches on Tuesday (3/1/2023). Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore are in contention for a place in the semifinals, for which Malaysia and Singapore will square up in a make-or-break-it battle.
Vietnam stands the best chance of winning the group with underdog Myanmar being its opponent in the final match of Group B. The semifinals will be played on Friday.
