HLV Indonesia speaks frankly about the strength of U19 Vietnam ahead of the big match

Coach Nova Arianto praises the capabilities of U19 Vietnam and insists that U19 Indonesia needs to claim victory in the last group stage game to take control of their path to the U19 Southeast Asia 2026 semifinals.

A 3-0 victory over U19 Timor Leste in the second match of Group A at the 2026 U19 Southeast Asia Championship kept U19 Indonesia's hopes of reaching the semifinals alive. However, the biggest challenge for the host team still lies ahead, as they must face U19 Vietnam in a decisive match for the group top spot on June 7.

After two rounds, both U19 Indonesia and U19 Vietnam have earned a full six points each. However, the Vietnamese representative currently leads the group due to a superior goal difference. This means U19 Indonesia must win the final match if they want to overtake their rivals and decide their own fate in advancing, rather than waiting for results from other groups.

Speaking after the win over U19 Timor Leste, Coach Nova Arianto stated that he took the opportunity to experiment with the lineup and give playing time to many squad members. The coach shared: "Today, I wanted to test all the players who didn't feature in the previous match. I'm very pleased that everyone gave their all. I appreciate Timor Leste's disciplined style of play; clearly, this wasn't an easy game for us. Let's put tonight's victory aside for now and focus entirely on the next match."

Furthermore, Coach Nova Arianto specifically emphasized the strength of U19 Vietnam. He believes this opponent possesses superior professional quality compared to the teams Indonesia has faced so far in the tournament. "U19 Vietnam has a very strong fighting spirit. I require the players not to be afraid when facing Vietnam. Their squad quality is far above that of Timor Leste and Myanmar. I demand maximum focus and discipline from my players so that we can secure the victory," Nova stressed.

The U19 Indonesia head coach also affirmed that the biggest goal is to advance through the team's own merits. "From the start, I assessed Group A as extremely competitive. U19 Vietnam is certainly a very strong team, both in individual quality and tactical setup. We want to earn our place in the next round through our own ability, not by sitting around waiting for results from other groups. The whole team will prepare as thoroughly as possible for the match against U19 Vietnam, because this is a must-win game where we want to decide our own path," the U19 Indonesia coach affirmed.

Looking beyond immediate results, Coach Nova Arianto also views this tournament as an opportunity to evaluate squad depth for long-term goals. He concluded: "When I came here, my objective was to test the capabilities of the entire squad. This U19 Southeast Asia tournament is a platform for the coaching staff to assess the potential of the players. I want to see whether all the names I brought along can become the optimal personnel options for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers campaign." With such determined statements from Coach Nova, the clash between U19 Indonesia and U19 Vietnam promises to be the highlight match of the group stage.