On the evening of July 18, at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, U23 Indonesia continued to show impressive form at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship when they won a minimal 1-0 victory over U23 Philippines in the second match of Group A.
Against the opponent who just surprised them when defeating U23 Malaysia 2-0, coach Donald Vanenburg still let the main striker Jens Raven sit on the bench.
However, U23 Indonesia still took the initiative, quickly imposed the game and continuously created great pressure right from the start of the match.
The duo Arkhan Fikri and Rayhan Hannan played outstandingly, continuously stirring up the opponent's defense with dangerous shots.
The only goal of the match came in the 22nd minute, when from a skillful throw-in, central defender Rosquillo from the Philippines, in an effort to block, headed the ball into the home net.
After the opening goal, Indonesia continued to press, but the inaccuracy of Fikri, Hannan and Arjuna's shots prevented the score from increasing.
Meanwhile, U23 Philippines could hardly create any clear chances, except for Leddel's weak shot in the 76th minute.
However, they still show discipline and are not easily subdued by the great pressure from the home team.
With this victory, U23 Indonesia maintained the top spot in Group A and had a great chance to enter the semi-finals.
In the remaining match on July 18, U23 Malaysia made an impressive comeback when they defeated U23 Brunei with a score of 7-1.
Goals from Danish Syamer, Danish Haykal, Haqimi Rosli and the opponent's own goal helped Malaysia maintain the chance to continue, waiting for the result of the final match against U23 Indonesia.
