Indonesia vs Guinea, "Young Garuda" Behind 0-1 through a Penalty Goal in the First Half

Without the support of several key players such as Rizky Ridho and Justin Hubner, "Garuda Muda" relies on Rafael Struick as their striker, assisted by Jeam Sroyer and Witan Sulaeman. Meanwhile, Marselino Ferdinan, who previously played on the left side of the attacking line, was pulled back to strengthen the midfield alongside Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Ivar Jenner.

Guinea is strengthened by a number of players who play in Europe, one of them being Ilaix Moriba, a player trained by Barcelona who now plays for Getafe on loan from RB Leipzig. In addition, there are also Madiou Keita (Strasbourg), Saidou Sow (Auxerre), and Algassime Bah (Olympiacos Piraeus).

Guinea has been putting pressure on Indonesia since the beginning of the game. They created the first opportunity in the third minute through a shot from outside the penalty box by Aguibou Camara. However, Camara's shot sailed over the crossbar of the Garuda Muda goal guarded by goalkeeper Ernando Eri.

In the fifth minute, Indonesia had a chance to counterattack from a Guinean corner kick. Unfortunately, Jeam Sroyer was already in an off-side position when he received the ball from midfield.

Indonesia is attempting to launch attacks from the backline, but still unable to penetrate Guinea's defense line. Several mistakes in passing in the midfield actually create dangerous situations for Indonesia's backline.

Guinea had another chance in the 13th minute. Fortunately, the cross pass from the right wing in front of Eri's goal was successfully swept away by Muhammad Ferarri.

One minute later, it was Garuda Muda's turn to get a chance through Witan. Unfortunately, Witan did not take the shot when he was already free on the right side of Guinea's penalty box and instead passed the ball, which was swept away by a Guinea player and only resulted in a corner kick.

Indonesia scored their first accurate shot on target in the 18th minute. Pratama Arhan, who penetrated from the left wing, made a kick with his right foot. However, his shot was successfully caught by Guinea's goalkeeper, Soumaila Sylla.

On the 28th minute, through a counter-attack scheme from a throw-in situation to Arhan, Guinea earned a penalty. The referee pointed to the spot after Witan fouled one of Guinea's players in the penalty box. Moriba successfully executed the penalty with a shot that Ernando Eri couldn't anticipate, giving Guinea a one-goal lead.

Marselino had the opportunity to equalize the score in the 40th minute. The opportunity was gained through Marselino's run on the left wing before taking a shot from outside the penalty box. However, Marselino's shot missed wide of Sylla's goal.

Indonesia's best opportunity to level the playing field was obtained by Struick in the 44th minute. However, Struick's kick from inside the penalty box did not actually aim at the goal.

Best opportunity

The Garuda Muda squad has the ambition to end the 68-year wait to appear in the main Olympics. Qualifying for Paris 2024 is the best opportunity to write new gold ink in the history of Indonesian football.

Marselino Ferdinan and his friends will receive a place equal to the Indonesian legends who will never be forgotten, such as Ramang, Tan Liong Houw, Maulwi Saelan, Aang Witarsa, as well as the sibling duo Ramlan and Ramli Yatim.

Even more deserving of appreciation are Shin Tae-yong's wards for qualifying for the Olympics after going through a series of qualifying stages. Meanwhile, Indonesia qualifying for Melbourne 1956 was akin to receiving a gift as a result of Taiwan's withdrawal during the qualifying rounds.

Facing Guinea is certainly not an easy matter, especially since Indonesia is very unaware of the power of African teams. Since actively participating in international matches in 1951, Indonesia has only tested the strength of African teams 15 times. The last time this happened was when playing two matches against Burundi in March 2023.

Indonesia has once faced Guinea before. The first and only meeting took place during the Ganefo 1965 at Moranbong Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. At that time, Indonesia lost 1-3 to Guinea in the match held on August 3, 1965.