YANGON (13 Sept 2017) – Indonesia delivered what was expected of them in their final Group B tie at the Thuwunna Stadium to beat Brunei DS 8-0 to confirm their place in the next round of the AFF Under-18 Championship.
With three teams locked in a battle to make the cut for the two semi-final places from the group, Indonesia had the easier of the exchanges where they had to face Brunei DS to confirm their spot. The other game will be the biggie between hosts Myanmar and Vietnam.
“I thought that the result was fair. The eight goals scored commensurate with the hard work which we have put in,” said Indonesian head coach Indra Sjafri. “Now, we will see what happens in the next match between Myanmar and Vietnam.”
Brunei, who are already out of contention, found it hard going not only due to the fact that they were playing against a confident Indonesian side but also to the overwhelming heat.
And it took Indonesia just 42seconds to open the floodgates when Muhammad Rafli Mursalim pounced on some hesitant Brunei defending to go ahead.
From then, the game was all Indonesia when they added further goals through Egy Maulana Vikri (18th and 22nd), Witan Sulaeman (40th and 67th), Rafli (42nd and 45th) and Hanis Saghara Putra (68th).
“No team goes into a game thinking of a loss,” said Brunei head coach Takao Fujiwara. “We tried very hard today but Indonesia were just too organised.”
CURRENT STANDINGS
| Group B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Indonesia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 9 |
| Vietnam | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 9 |
| Myanmar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 6 |
| Brunei DS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 25 | -21 | 3 |
| Philippines | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 24 | -22 | 0 |
