U17 Indonesia Coach Points Out Reason for 1-3 Defeat in World Cup Opener

The Indonesian strategist believes his players lost due to excessive caution in mindset.

Late on November 4th, U17 Indonesia suffered a 1-3 loss to U17 Zambia in their opening match of Group H at the U17 World Cup finals. The team nicknamed "Garuda Muda" started enthusiastically with Zahaby Gholy scoring the opening goal in the 12th minute. However, the Southeast Asian side’s joy was short-lived as Zambia scored three goals within seven minutes thanks to a brace by Abel Nyirongo (35th, 38th minutes) and a goal from Lukonde Mwale (42nd minute).

According to statistics, although ball possession was evenly split (50%-50%), U17 Indonesia was inferior in shooting accuracy and attacking efficiency.

After the match, Coach Nova Arianto expressed his disappointment. He stated:“We are truly disappointed with this result because we couldn’t earn any points in the opening game,” Coach Nova shared after the match. “However, I appreciate the fighting spirit of the players. They gave their all but must realize they are competing at the U17 World Cup level.”

The 45-year-old coach also identified the biggest issue as the team’s timid mentality: “At this level, if players lack courage or are fearful, things become very difficult. We clearly saw the difference between the first and second halves.”

In fact, during the second half, Indonesia played more actively and created more chances though they couldn’t reduce the deficit. Nova said this was a positive sign ahead of their match against U17 Brazil on November 7th, also at Aspire Zone.

“I saw the players were more determined in the second half. That is very important for us to improve and prepare better for the game against Brazil,” he said.

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