Strength Map of Indonesia and Guinea Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Playoffs

Indonesia U-23 will meet Guinea U-23 in the 2024 Paris Olympics playoff match. How strong are the two teams?

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A number of Indonesian U-23 team players, such as Pratama Arhan and Rio Fahmi (center), are currently undergoing a training program at the Leo Lagrange Stadium, Besancon, France, Tuesday (7/5/2024). Indonesia is preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics playoff match against Guinea.

The Indonesian U-23 men's football team will face Guinea U-23 in the fight for a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics through the playoff between the Asian and African zones. Indonesia's match against Guinea will take place in Paris on May 9 2024.

Previously, both teams failed to win one of the three automatic tickets to the Olympics. Indonesia failed to win a ticket from the Asian representatives after not succeeding in becoming third place in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. Likewise, Guinea failed to win an automatic ticket to the Olympics for the African representatives.

Both teams finished fourth in their respective continental tournaments. Indonesia came in fourth in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, while Guinea was ranked fourth in the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup.

Apart from failing to win third place in their respective continental tournaments, Indonesia and Guinea have other similarities in their journey to the playoffs at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both teams are debutants.

Looking back a little, Guinea advanced to the final round of the 2023 African Cup U-23 as debutants or first-time participants in the event. Guinea joined Group A of the African Cup U-23 and successfully made it to the knockout stage alongside Morocco.

Continuing to the knockout round, Guinea's journey ended in the semi-finals after losing narrowly to Egypt with a score of 0-1. Then, in the third place match, Guinea lost to Mali, 3-4, in a penalty shoot-out after drawing 0-0 in normal and extra time.

PSSI

Midfielder for the Indonesian U-23 team, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, dribbles the ball during training at the Leo Lagrange Stadium, Besancon, France, 7 May 2024.

Indonesia's journey in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup

Just like Guinea, Indonesia also made it to the final round of the 2024 U-23 Asia Cup as a debutant team. Indonesia's journey to the 2024 U-23 Asia Cup final round went through the qualification stage.

Indonesia made it to the final round after successfully defeating Taiwan with a convincing score of 5-0 in the Group K qualifier on September 9, 2023, and winning against Turkmenistan, 2-0, on September 12, 2023.

At the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup finals in Qatar which will be held in April 2024, Indonesia will join Group A which includes hosts Qatar, Jordan and Australia. In the group phase, ”Garuda Muda” lost their first match to hosts Qatar with a score of 0-2.

AFP/KARIM JAAFAR

Indonesian player, Ivar Jenner (center/6), kicks the ball to score a goal against Iraq in the third place match of the U-23 Asian Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar, on Thursday (2/5/2024).

Then, in the second match against Australia, Indonesia won, 1-0, and in the final group match took a landslide lead, 4-1, over Jordan. The Indonesian National Team also qualified for the quarter-finals as second place in the group.

In the quarterfinals, Indonesia eliminated South Korea through a penalty shoot-out drama after a 2-2 tie during 120 minutes. The "Garuda Muda" won 11-10.

Indonesia is the only representative from Southeast Asia that has advanced to the semi-finals of the U-23 Asian Cup. Indonesia will face Uzbekistan, who successfully eliminated the defending champion, Saudi Arabia.

In the semifinals, Indonesia lost to Uzbekistan with a score of 0-2. Three days later, Indonesia competed again for third place against Iraq. However, Indonesia's progress was halted after being defeated by Iraq, 1-2.

Map of Guinea's location in the West African countries region. Guinea is located at the bottom left in the map view.

Guinea's journey at the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations

On the other hand, Guinea made it to the final round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations U-23 after going through the qualifying round that involved 38 countries out of the 53 African Football Confederation (CAF) members. Guinea was scheduled to play against Uganda in two home and away matches. However, Uganda, who was supposed to be Guinea's opponent, withdrew from the competition, thus Guinea was declared the winner by default.

In the next qualifying round, Guinea will meet Nigeria to determine the team that will advance to the final rounds. In the first match held at Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria on March 22, 2023, the Nigeria versus Guinea game ended in a draw with a score of 0-0.

Then on March 26, 2023, in the second match, Guinea won 2-0. Guinea qualified for the 2024 U-23 Africa Cup final as a debutant team.

In the final round of the African Cup U-23, Guinea joined Group A along with Morocco, Ghana, and Gabon. In their debut match, Guinea faced the host, Morocco. Guinea lost with a score of 1-2. The winning goal from the host was determined in the final minutes through a penalty kick.

In the second match, Guinea faced Congo. Guinea won the match with a score of 3-1. Furthermore, in the last match of Group A, Guinea drew against Ghana, 1-1. In the first half, Guinea was behind 0-1 but managed to equalize the score in the second half.

FIFA

Guinea U-23 coach Kaba Diawara monitored his team's training session some time ago.

Guinea has advanced to the next round by finishing in second place under the host, Morocco, who won all the matches in the group stage. In the final standings, Morocco collected 9 points, while Guinea and Ghana each collected 4 points.

However, Guinea managed to advance as they had a better goal difference. Guinea scored 5 goals and conceded 4, while Ghana scored 5 goals but conceded 8.

Also read: Indonesia vs Guinea, Twin Ambition to End Long Wait to Appear at the Olympics

In the Africa U-23 Cup, the team that advances from the group stage goes straight to the knockout round in the top four or the semifinals. Guinea faced the first-ranked team in Group B, Egypt. In the semifinal match on July 4, 2023, Egypt managed to defeat Guinea with a score of 1-0.

After being eliminated, Guinea faced Mali to compete for third place and the last African representative spot for the football qualification at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In the match, Mali defeated Guinea 4-3 through a penalty shootout after both teams played to a 0-0 draw until extra time.

Guinea vs Indonesia in the 2024 Paris Olympics playoff match

Guinea and Indonesia still have the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic football qualifications through the inter-zone playoffs. Even though they have many similarities, the two teams have different strengths.

Guinea's journey as debutants in the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations to the playoff round includes at least two matches in the qualifying round, three matches in the group stage and two matches in the knockout round. Until the playoffs approached, Guinea had won two matches, drawn two and lost three.

Meanwhile, Indonesia in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup until the playoffs approached, had more matches than Guinea, namely two matches in the qualifying round, three matches in the group stage and three matches in the knockout round. Indonesia won five matches and lost three times.

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Liverpool midfielder from Guinea, Naby Keita (left), during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match between Benfica and Liverpool FC in Lisbon, 6 April 2022. Both senior and junior Guinean players play a lot in European leagues.

Aside from excelling in the number of matches played, Indonesia is more productive in scoring goals in the Asian U-23 Cup tournament compared to Guinea in the African U-23 Cup. From the group stage to competing for third place, Indonesia managed to score 6 goals and concede 7 goals.

As for Guinea, they scored 5 goals and conceded 5 goals. In the qualifying round, Indonesia also excelled with 7 goals without conceding, while Guinea scored two goals without conceding.

Even though they are superior in the number of games and goal productivity, the team under Shin Tae-yong will have a steep road ahead because Guinea has talented players who have been involved a lot in the European League. In the goalkeeper position there is Sandali Conde who plays for SV Stripfing (Austria) and Lassana Diakhaby who plays for Valencinnes FC (France).

In the row of backline players there are Naby Oulare (Boluspor, Turkey), Sahmkou Camara (Stade Lausanne, Switzerland), Cheick Thiam (Beershot V.A, Belgium), Madiou Keita (Auxerre, France), and Mohamed Soumah (Jong KAA Gent, Belgium).

Also read: 6 Interesting Facts about Guinea, Opponent of the Indonesian U-23 National Team

In the midfield position, there is Ibrahima Fofana who plays for Kocalispor (Turkey), Selu Diallo (Deportivo Alaves, Spain), Aguibou Camara (Atromitos Athens, Greece), and Sekou Tidiany Bangoura (Tuzlaspor, Turkey).

In the front position, three strikers have experience playing in the European League, namely Ousmane Camara (Annecy, France), Algassime Bah (Olympiakos Piraeus, Greece), and Elhadj Bah (USL Dunkerque, France). Seeing this capability, Indonesia must be aware of the equal capabilities of Coach Kaba Diawara's Guinea squad in every line. (R&D COMPAS)

Also read: Dewangga Arrives, Indonesia U-23 Gets Additional Back Line Strength