The Indonesian U-23 National Team had to be satisfied with the status of the fourth ranked team in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. They lost 1-2 to Iraq in the race for third place in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Thursday (2/5/2024).
This status means that the U-23 Indonesian national team still has the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The condition is that they have to undergo a play-off against representatives of CAF or the African confederation, Guinea.
The duel took place at the Center National du Football, Clairefontaine, France, Thursday (9/5/2024). The winner of this match gets the final ticket to take part in the 2024 Olympics.
If they succeed in eliminating Guinea, the Garuda Muda Team will be in Group A with France, the United States and New Zealand.
The match against the U-23 Guinea National Team will be a difficult match for the Red-White Team. Moreover, the majority of Guinean U-23 players have careers abroad, aka overseas players.
So, the Guinea U-23 team has two facts that give them an advantage in winning the match when facing the Indonesian U-23 National Team.
Second Home France
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As reported by Transfermarkt , there are 20 overseas players in Guinea U-23. Of this number, 16 of them are pursuing their careers in Europe, and France is the country most Guinean players go to.
There are four Guinea U-23 players who are playing for the French club, namely Elhadj Bah, Ousmane Camara, Madiou Keita and Lassana Diakhaby. However, these four names strengthen the second caste clubs in the French League.
France has become the second home for Guinea U-23 players. This also cannot be separated from the historical factor that Guinea is a former French colony.
The players certainly don’t face many obstacles in adapting because they are already used to the conditions at the match location.
Have Plenty of Time
The Guinean U-23 national team received a play-off berth after placing fourth in the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations which was held in July 2023 in Morocco. This means that it has been around nine months since the agenda before they had another competitive match.
Guinea U-23 had a match against the United States on March 22 2024, but this match had friendly status.
They have more time to prepare carefully. There is plenty of time for them to focus and fight hard to beat the U-23 Indonesian National Team.
Just compare it with the U-23 Indonesian National Team which only had a week to prepare for this match. Not to mention, Shin Tae-yong’s team had to travel from Qatar to France.
After arriving in France, Rizky Ridho et al. You also still need to adapt to the weather and prepare yourself for training. This is certainly an unfavorable situation for the U-23 Indonesian National Team.