Indonesian President Jokowi Recognizes U-23 Team's Milestone Achievement at AFC Asian Cup

Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo popularly known as Jokowi, applauded the accomplished performance of the country's U-23 football team at the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar.
The Indonesian U-23 National Team, who made their debut at the tournament, reached the semi-finals, a feat that President Jokowi hailed as commendable. Expressing his appreciation following the team's 2-1 defeat to Iraq, Jokowi stated, "As debutants, their achievement in reaching the semi-finals deserves appreciation."

Although the team's semi-final loss to Iraq ended their chances of automatically qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, they will now face Guinea in the upcoming play-off match. Jokowi encouraged the Young Garuda Squad to persist in their ambition to secure an Olympic spot.

Despite the setback, the coach of the Indonesian U-23 National Team, Shin Tae-Yong, praised the performance of Justin Hubner and his teammates throughout the tournament, saying the team deserved praise for their efforts.
The competition saw Indonesia making their mark by defeating strong teams such as Australia and Jordan in the group stage, and South Korea in the quarter-finals. They however succumbed to Uzbekistan and subsequently Iraq in the third-place playoff.
In their match against Iraq, Indonesia initially took the lead with a goal from Ivar Jenner. Iraq retaliated with goals from Zaid Tahseen Hantoosh and Ali Jasim, concluding the match with a 2-1 victory. Shin expressed his gratitude towards the Indonesian team for their fierce battle in the match.

While Iraq has now secured their place in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Indonesian team looks forward to their playoff match against Guinea on May 9th in Paris, France.