Match schedule of U.23 Indonesia - Malaysia today: Extremely good, defeat will immediately 'disappear'

The match between U.23 Indonesia and U.23 Malaysia (Group A U.23 Southeast Asia 2025) at 8:00 p.m. today (July 21) promises to be exciting, as it is likely that only 1 of the 2 teams will have a ticket to the semi-finals.

What result does U.23 Malaysia need to enter the semi-finals?

The final match of Group A of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship will take place simultaneously at 8:00 p.m. today (July 21), with two notable matches: host U.23 Indonesia will face U.23 Malaysia, while U.23 Philippines will face U.23 Brunei.

After two matches, U.23 Indonesia leads with 6 points (won U.23 Philippines 1-0 and U.23 Brunei 8-0). U.23 Philippines is second with 3 points (won U.23 Malaysia 2-0 and lost U.23 Indonesia 0-1). U.23 Malaysia is third with 3 points (won U.23 Brunei 7-1 and lost U.23 Philippines 0-2). U.23 Brunei is last with 0 points.

U.23 Indonesia (white shirt) only needs 1 point to secure the top spot in the table.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

The race to the semi-finals is still open, as all three teams U.23 Malaysia, U.23 Indonesia and U.23 Philippines still have a chance. In this tournament, 4 semi-final tickets will be awarded to the 3 teams that win Group A, B and C, along with the second-placed team with the best record (the second-placed team in Group A will have its record deducted from the last-placed team). Therefore, the goal of U.23 Malaysia is to win first place, or if they finish second, they must have at least 6 points to create a competitive advantage over the other second-placed teams.

If in the final match, U.23 Philippines wins U.23 Brunei, and U.23 Malaysia wins U.23 Indonesia, the three teams will have 6 points. At this time, the direct confrontation coefficient will be considered.

To keep their hopes of advancing, U.23 Malaysia must beat U.23 Indonesia by 2 goals or more. Then, U.23 Malaysia will surpass their opponents in terms of head-to-head goal difference (same points, but better goal difference in direct confrontations between the three teams). If they win by exactly 2 goals, U.23 Malaysia will finish second in the group and wait for the goal difference with the other second-placed teams to determine the semi-final ticket. If they win by 3 goals or more, the "Tigers" will finish first in the group and will definitely enter the semi-finals.

If they only beat the host U.23 Indonesia by 1 goal, U.23 Malaysia will have to wait for U.23 Philippines to draw or lose to U.23 Brunei to take second place. However, this possibility is unlikely, as U.23 Brunei is too weak (scored 1 goal, conceded 15 goals in the first 2 matches).

Outstanding advantage for U.23 Indonesia

Meanwhile, U.23 Indonesia only needs 1 point in the final match against U.23 Malaysia to be sure of entering the semi-finals as group leader. Or if they lose, a loss with a maximum difference of 1 goal will still help host Indonesia enter the semi-finals as group leader, or at least second place to compare with other groups. If they lose by 2 goals or more, U.23 Indonesia will almost certainly stop.

However, coach Gerald Vanenburg did not allow U.23 Indonesia to play for a draw, but wanted his players to go out and find victory.

I don't think about the distant matches, the whole team just wants to focus on U.23 Malaysia right now. U.23 Indonesia may have won many matches, but it will be meaningless if we don't overcome U.23," said Mr. Gerald Vanenburg. "Victory is our only goal."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-u23-indonesia-malaysia-hom-nay-cuc-hay-bai-tran-la-bay-mau-185250720163847009.htm