Indonesian U-23 national team made a breakthrough in the 2018 Asian Games football branch. Garuda Muda successfully advanced to the round of 16 with the status of winning Group A.
Indonesia managed to become the best after collecting nine points from the results of three wins and one fall. They are one point ahead of Palestinians who are runner-up.
Indonesian points jumped after a 3-1 win over Hong Kong in the final game of qualifying Group A on Monday (08/20/2018). Meanwhile, Hong Kong is also certain to advance to the round of 16 because it was chosen as the third best ranked team.
In accordance with the regulations of the Asian Games soccer competition, four of the six teams that finished third in each group will be selected the best to qualify for the round of 16. The four predetermined countries are Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
They set aside Thailand and Pakistan that have worse marks. Thailand has always lost in the Group B preliminary matches while Pakistan in Group D has a bad goal productivity.
During the competition in the group stage, several ASEAN countries appeared surprisingly. Besides Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam also became champions in the group.
The Malaya Tiger squad even won 2-1 over defending champions South Korea in the second match of the second round of the 2018 Asian Games Group E. Meanwhile Vietnam managed to win 1-0 over Japan in the final Group D match.
In the round of 16, Indonesia will face the UAE which previously finished third in Group C. UAE earned 3 points from one win and two defeats. Despite having a better record, Indonesia should be aware of its opponents.
Schedule 16 of the 2018 Asian Games Football Games
August 23, 2018
- Patriot Stadium
16.00 WIB: Palestine vs. Syria
19.30 WIB: Vietnam vs Bahrain
- Wibawa Mukti Stadium
16.00 WIB: Uzbekistan vs Hong Kong
19.30 WIB: Iran vs South Korea
August 24, 2018
- Patriot Stadium
16.00 WIB: China vs. Saudi Arabia
19.30 WIB: Malaysia vs. Japan
Wibawa Mukti Stadium
16.00 WIB: Indonesia vs United Arab Emirates
19.30 WIB: Bangladesh vs. North Korea
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