Ahead of the 2025 AFC U20 Asian Cup, U20 Indonesia and U20 Thailand face tough challenges as they are placed in highly competitive groups. Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the next round. The four best teams will qualify for the U20 World Cup.
U20 Indonesia has little hope left for World Cup qualification (Photo: Kompas).
U20 Indonesia showed ambition by calling up three overseas-based players for the tournament: Welber Jardim (São Paulo, Brazil), Jens Raven (Dordrecht, Netherlands), and Marselinus Ama Ola (Logroñés, Spain).
All three played in their opening match against U20 Iran. However, despite their presence, U20 Indonesia revealed numerous weaknesses. The result was a crushing 0-3 defeat.
In their second match, U20 Indonesia faced an even tougher opponent, U20 Uzbekistan, the defending champions of the tournament. While surprises can happen in football, U20 Uzbekistan is on another level entirely. The Central Asian team demonstrated their strength with a 1-0 victory over U20 Yemen in their opening match.
If U20 Indonesia loses to U20 Uzbekistan, they will be eliminated if U20 Iran avoids defeat against U20 Yemen. Even if U20 Indonesia manages to draw with U20 Uzbekistan, they would need a big win against U20 Yemen in the final match while hoping U20 Iran defeats U20 Uzbekistan.
U20 Thailand may exit early after losing to Japan (Photo: AFC).
In short, only a victory against U20 Uzbekistan could keep U20 Indonesia’s hopes alive. However, based on their current form, this task seems nearly impossible.
The situation for U20 Thailand mirrors that of U20 Indonesia. The “War Elephants” suffered a 0-3 defeat against U20 Japan in their opening match. Meanwhile, in the same group, U20 South Korea secured a 2-1 win over U20 Syria.
If U20 Thailand fails to beat U20 South Korea in their next match, they will almost certainly be eliminated. Therefore, the Thai side must defeat the South Koreans, but given that U20 South Korea is a championship contender, achieving this feat will be extremely difficult.
Essentially, both U20 Indonesia and U20 Thailand share similar fates. They are in challenging groups and suffered heavy losses in their opening matches. Only a miracle could save these Southeast Asian teams at this point. Otherwise, it’s predictable that they might bow out after the second round of matches. Southeast Asia’s hopes for the U20 World Cup remain slim.
Standings for Groups C and D in the U20 Asian Cup (Photo: LS).
