REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - General Chairman of the All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir motivated the players of the Indonesia U-17 national team to focus on fighting in the 2025 U-17 Asia Cup. Erick asked the players not to be afraid to reach the goal of qualifying for the U-17 World Cup.

“Be mentally strong and never be afraid to chase the target to the U17 World Cup,” Erick Thohir said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Friday (4/4/2025).

The U-17 team will embark on a trip to the U-17 Asian Cup with the first match of the Group C phase against South Korea at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Saudi Arabia on Friday (4/4) evening.

In the group, Garuda Muda will also face Afghanistan and Yemen to capture the top two spots as well as qualify for the U-17 World Cup.

Erick said the adaptation period of coach Nova Arianto's training team for the Asian Cup has been maximized so he hopes there will be no obstacles during the competition.

“Let's support and pray for the U17 national team to go through this tournament with the best results to reach the world stage,” he said.

Erick said with the allocation of eight teams from the U-17 Asian Cup to qualify for the U-17 World Cup, the target of qualifying for the group should be a reality.

If two years ago it was possible to get to the U-17 World Cup with host status, he said, then this time it should be more prestigious by qualifying.

“The players have been fighting to qualify for the Asian Cup and you have trained hard during the preparation. Good luck competing,” he said.

Since March 15, Erick has taken the 23-man team to the Middle East in preparation for the tournament, which will feature 16 Asian teams filling four groups.

During the concentration of training in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the players underwent hard training, adapting to the cold weather. They train in the month of Ramadan to celebrate the 2025 Eid al-Fitr holiday away from the family.

Muhamad Zahaby Gholy and friends have already scored three tries, scoring in a 1-0 win against the Chinese U-17 team, a 2-2 draw against the UAE, and a 0-2 loss to Iran.

Indonesia last appeared in the U-17 World Cup when it hosted the event in late 2023. At that time, the U-17 team was eliminated in the group phase after finishing third, the result of two draws and once lost.

Here is the schedule of matches of the Indonesia U-17 national team in the 2025 U-17 Asia Cup:

- Friday, April 4: (22:00pm): Indonesia vs. South Korea

- Monday, April 7 (22:00 WIB): Indonesia vs. Yemen

- Friday, April 11 (00:15pm): Indonesia vs. Afghanistan

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