Indra Sjafri admits there are many important lessons against Mali U-22

Viralterkini.id, Bogor – The coach of the U-23 Indonesian National Team, Indra Sjafri, gave a comprehensive assessment after his team lost to Mali in a test match at Pakansari Stadium. He said the duel provided many important lessons for preparations for the 2025 SEA Games.

Indra admitted that he was disappointed with the result of the match which ended in defeat. However, he assessed that Garuda Muda’s performance was not completely bad in that match.

“Okay, first of course from the results, from the goals that were scored, of course we are not satisfied. But in this case we have several positive things that we did. And overall I don’t think the team played too badly,” said Indra.

He explained that a number of mistakes still appeared during the game, especially in Mali’s opening goal. According to him, the players should have anticipated this situation.

“Well, there was a mistake, one goal from a set piece. I think it can actually be overcome. And there was also a boss who, when directing, was taken once and straight away,” he continued.

Indra assesses that Mali’s quality has helped make small shortcomings a big problem for his team. He said the opponent was able to punish every mistake efficiently.

“Indeed, if we play against a quality opponent like Mali, even the slightest mistake will definitely have, whatever you call it, an impact that is not good for us,” said the former PSP Padang player.

The coach, who is familiar with coaching this age group, emphasized that the team still needs significant improvement. He wants all sectors to be improved before Indonesia appears at the SEA Games.

“What is clear from the match we played tonight is that there are many things that we have to improve in order to get to the SEA Games. And it also cannot be compared, the quality we will face in the SEA Games will not be like this”

Indra assesses that tests from a team of Mali’s quality are very useful for the development of Garuda Muda. He hopes that the players’ responses in the future will be more appropriate in dealing with pressure.

“The important thing is that the quality of the team we are playing against is really good. There were several things where our response was not appropriate. So that’s what we have to fix,” explained Indra. (ma)