Malaysian coach Juan Garrido is actually enthusiastically looking forward to Malaysia’s game when facing the U-19 Indonesian National Team which will be supported by thousands of spectators in the 2024 AFF U-19 Cup semifinals at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Saturday (27/7).
Malaysia will be the opponent of the U-19 Indonesian National Team in the semifinals of the AFF U-19 Cup. By facing the Indonesian U-19 National Team, Malaysia must be prepared to face the pressure of thousands of Indonesian U-19 National Team supporters who will be present directly at the stadium.
However, facing this pressure, Garrido was actually enthusiastic and couldn’t wait to see his troops in action. Garrido believes that performing under crowd pressure will be a valuable experience for his team.
“Of course it will be a good match. Good for all our U-19 players with this scenario, the stadium is full.”
“I’m sure they will fully support the Indonesian team. So this is a good experience for us,” said Garrido
Malaysia is confirmed to be the opponent of the Indonesian U-19 National Team in the semifinals of the AFF U-19 Cup after winning Group C. The draw against Thailand 1-1, Thursday (25/7), put Malaysia ahead on goal difference in the final standings.
However, Garrido said that the Malaysian U-19 national team was at a disadvantage in terms of schedule ahead of facing Indonesia in the semifinals. The reason is, the Harimau Malaya Team only has one day’s rest.
“To be honest, it’s a big loss to rest one day for us. Because Indonesia has more than 24 hours of extra rest than us. A big advantage for them. But it’s a tournament, we have to adapt to the conditions,” said Garrido.
The Indonesian U-19 national team has had three days of rest since beating Timor Leste 6-2 in the final Group A match on Tuesday (23/7).
Regarding Indonesia’s strength, Garrido admitted that his team would not focus on one player. The coach from Spain considers that the U-19 Indonesian National Team has many dangerous players.
Indonesia and Malaysia have met three times in the AFF U-19 Cup era. Previously, there was one match between them when the tournament still had an U-20 squad in 2005.
