The young Garuda Squad earned direct qualification to the junior-level World Cup after accumulating six points so far, thanks to a 1-0 win against South Korea on April 4 and their triumph over Yemen in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday (April 8) night.
As it stands, the Indonesian boys' national football team will also advance to the quarterfinals of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup and is ranked first in Group C of the tournament, followed by South Korea, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
Indonesia is scheduled to face Afghanistan, which remains winless, in its final group-stage match on Friday (April 11).
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming match, Indonesia is guaranteed a spot in its second consecutive FIFA U-17 World Cup after participating as the host nation in the 2023 edition.
This qualification was secured with four goals scored against Yemen, with each goal credited to Zahaby Gholy, Fadly Alberto, and Evandra Florasta, who registered a brace.
Gholy opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Alberto extended Indonesia's lead 10 minutes later. The team went into the halftime break with a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, Yemen managed to narrow the gap with a goal from Zaid Al Garash, who converted a penalty kick in the 52nd minute.
When the match appeared to be concluding with a 2-1 scoreline, Indonesia's Florasta scored two more goals, one from a penalty in the 87th minute and another from a counterattack in the 89th minute.
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Translator: Donny Aditra, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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