Indonesia U17 Coach: 'Nothing is impossible against Vietnam'

A 0-1 loss to Malaysia U17 has put Indonesia U17 in a difficult position in the race for the semifinals of the 2026 Southeast Asia U17 Championship. Nevertheless, Coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto remained calm and spoke about his team's chances of advancing.

According to CNN Indonesia, this strategist completely rejected the view that the Indonesia U17 players played with a complacent mindset after the heavy 4-0 victory over Timor Leste. Kurniawan emphasized: "If you say complacent, it's absolutely not, because after the match against Timor Leste, we always reminded the players that they must start again from zero. That was well implemented because we monitored the players 24 hours a day. Every hour, every minute we knew what they were doing and they maintained their focus."

However, the Indonesia U17 head coach also admitted that the loss to Malaysia was unexpected. He further shared: "This loss was truly unexpected, because the conceded goal came not from a live-ball situation but from a set piece, something we had prepared to counter. Regarding Vietnam, they demonstrated superiority in their first two matches."

After the match, Kurniawan asked his players to quickly put aside the defeat to focus on the decisive match against Vietnam U17. This tactician stated: "Our task, mine and the coaching staff's, is how to restore the players' morale before facing the Vietnam team."

Besides, Kurniawan also did not avoid the reality that Indonesia's chances of advancing are being rated low. However, he said: "If you say the chance is very small, in my opinion in football anything can happen."

Not just stopping at words of encouragement, the Indonesia U17 Coach also affirmed: "After two days of rest, we will try to rekindle the spirit for the players, prepare tactics and will fight for 90 minutes on the 19th. We still respect the opponent, but for us nothing is impossible.

I believe the players will perform their best against Vietnam. If you are pessimistic, then why compete? I believe the players' spirit is always to fight to the fullest, and that is what we will show in the match against Vietnam."

Currently, Indonesia U17 stands third in Group A with 3 points, behind Vietnam U17, which leads with a perfect 6 points. The direct clash between the two teams on April 19 will be decisive for the semifinal ticket, forcing Kurniawan's squad to win if they do not want to stop early in this year's tournament.