REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia U-19 national coach Indra Sjafri is confident he can return to lead his team to the AFF U-19 Cup final for the second time. Eleven years ago at Sidoarjo, he ushered a generation of Evan Dimas and comrades out as champions of the AFF U-19 Cup.

In the event now called ASEAN U-19 Boys Championship 2024, Indonesia will face Malaysia who are ready to compete in the semifinals. The same state match will take place Saturday (27/7/2024) at 19:30 WIB at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya.

Indra felt confident he could conquer Malaysia to take Indonesia to the final. He said his team's preparation so far is good and all his players are in combat ready condition.

Moreover, Indonesia also advanced to the semi-finals of the AFF U-19 Cup this year with a satisfactory record, three wins from three matches, scoring 14 goals and conceding only two goals.

“Regarding the preparation of the Indonesia U-19 national team today is quite good, and we have been preparing for this semi-final from two days ago after the end of the group stage. All players are fit,” Indra said at a press conference in Surabaya on Friday.

“For me personally, this is my second semi-final in East Java, where my first semi-final was in 2013, and this is the second semi-final. Hopefully, God allow us to advance to the next round,” he added.

“I look forward to people coming to the stadium to watch the game. I think tomorrow the game goes interesting,” he continued.

Indonesia has the advantage ahead of facing Malaysia because it had enough rest time from the last match when it won 6-2 over East Timor on Tuesday (23/7/2024). Many of these breaks, he said, he used greatly to prepare the team for the semi-finals, including the possibility of matches that could have been determined through penalty rounds.

“It's good because we have a lot of time to prepare. Including, all the preparation, there is a penalty, and so on. Today also we have the last practice before tomorrow's game. Inshaallah all went well and fit,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Malaysia coach Juan Torres Garrido said otherwise because he only had a one-day break after the last match against Thailand that ended in a 1-1 draw on Thursday (25/7/2024).

“Our preparation was difficult because we only had one day of rest after the last game. We recuperate until my players are ready,” Juan said.

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