Steven Danis
Football Tribe Indonesia
Results:
Myanmar 1 – 1 Indonesia (Rachmat Irianto)
Indonesia 2 – 2 Malaysia (Marinus Wanewar, Witan Sulaeman)
Strengths: The team has shown good vision and compactness, playing with confidence and building from the back. Their confidence can be seen from the team’s set-pieces, where they consistently look dangerous. In fact, their ability from set-pieces can be one of their strengths or even their hallmark approach to international tournaments. This Indonesia side could follow Japan’s approach with stars such as Shunsuke Nakamura, Keisuke Honda and so on.
Weaknesses: The main problem for Indonesia is their lack of creativity. Even though this team has good compactness, their gameplay can be read by the opponent as soon as they lose the ball or try attacking with the same plans. Their repetitive approach has massively slowed down their productivity in front of goal. I hope Indra Sjafri have more than one ‘plan B’ in their last match against hosts Cambodia. Their hopes to progress on to the next phase are still alive, but they need to be more creative during open play if they wish to qualify.
Standout Performer – Gian Zola
Zola has looked outstanding in the first two matches. The ex-Persib youth player, who just moved to Liga 2 champions PSS Sleman, can distribute the ball to both flanks and even create chances from the second line. He can read the game very well too, helping the defensive midfielder stop the opponent’s attacks.