The Indonesian U23 national team won a bronze medal after defeating one of the strongest rivals, Malaysia in a match that took place at My Dinh Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday (22/5).
Garuda Muda had opened the scoring through Ronaldo Kwateh’s goal in the 68th minute, but Malaysia responded in the 81st minute thanks to Hadi Fayyadh’s goal. A 1-1 draw in normal time meant that the winner had to be determined through a penalty shootout.
WL. Praise the Lord. Astungkara. Indonesia won third place at the 2021 SEA Games after beating Malaysia in the penalty round.
Thank you for your hard work, Young Garuda. Keep going for the next stage! ❤️??#KitaGaruda #TeamnasDay pic.twitter.com/rSmQS9tXbX
— PSSI (@PSSI) May 22, 2022
The first two executors of Indonesia and Malaysia failed to carry out their duties properly, but Ernando Ari then performed brilliantly by denying the third penalty from the Malaya Tigers, Luqman Hakim.
Marc Klok, who was the last kicker, successfully carried out his duties perfectly and secured the bronze medal for Indonesia. Shin Tae-Yong’s squad finally won 4-3.
After the match, even Marc Klok could not hide his happiness, the Persib Bandung player also revealed that the coach actually wanted to put him as the third kicker.
“Before the penalty shootout started, the coach asked me to be the third executioner, but I had a feeling and then said I wanted to be the fifth kicker. The coach agreed and the momentum came,” said Klok as reported by the official PSSI website.
“I knew if I scored we would get the bronze medal and finish third, otherwise, if we fail, the netizens will definitely destroy me,” he added.
After competing in the SEA Games, the Indonesian national team still has a number of important agendas, including qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup. Garuda is in Group A with three other countries, namely Kuwait, Jordan and Nepal.
