From the first minutes, U23 Indonesia entered the match with great initiative. They pressed their opponents with a high attack pace, especially exploiting strongly on the right wing.
Good ball control helped the team from the archipelago continuously maintain pressure, but the final handling still lacked the necessary accuracy and sharpness.
On the other hand, U23 Malaysia played slowly and prioritized solidity in the home field. They barely created any noticeable dangerous situations in the first half. In addition, Zias from Malaysia was lucky to get a red card after a dangerous foul on the opponent.
In the second half, the game did not change much. U23 Indonesia continues to play proactively, pushing up the formation to seek the opening goal. However, Donald Vanenburg's players are still stuck in front of their opponent's well-organized defense.
Meanwhile, Malaysia, although they really need to win to keep their hopes of going on, has almost no clear-cut chances.
The match ended with a final score of 0-0. This result was enough to help the team from the archipelago win the top spot in Group A (7 points) and participate in the semi-finals of the U23 Southeast Asian tournament.
In the remaining match, U23 Philippines won 2-0 against Brunei to finish second in Group A.
According to the tournament regulations, only the best second-placed team will qualify for the next round. Because Group A has 4 teams (2 more than 2 groups B and C have 1 team), the achievement of the second-placed team in Group A when compared to the two second-placed teams in Group B and C will not be counted as the result of the 4th team.
In this case, the match U23 Philippines won U23 Brunei with a score of 2-0 was not considered (because U23 Brunei ranked at the bottom of the table). Therefore, according to the regulations, U23 Philippines has 3 points (a +1) when compared to the 2 second-placed teams in Group B and C.
If U23 Vietnam does not lose to U23 Cambodia and U23 Thailand does not lose to U23 Myanmar in the final match tomorrow (July 22), U23 Philippines will continue.
