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Beaten RI fails to advance to finals in Qatar
No match: Indonesiaâs U-23 soccer player Manahati Lestusen (right) fights for the ball with South Koreaâs Ahn Hyun-beom (left) during Group Hâs U-23 AFC Cup qualifying match at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-center">No match: Indonesia's U-23 soccer player Manahati Lestusen (right) fights for the ball with South Korea's Ahn Hyun-beom (left) during Group H's U-23 AFC Cup qualifying match at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday. South Korea crushed Indonesia 4-0 and to win the group, with Indonesia finishing runner-up. JP/Awo
Indonesia failed to advance to the AFC Cup under-23 soccer championship after falling in a 4-0 defeat to South Korea at Bung Karno Stadium on Tuesday, marking the latest debacle by a national team in major international tournaments.
In October last year, Indonesia's under-20 team finished last in group matches in Myanmar for the FIFA U-20 Championship, followed by their senior countrymen's failure in the AFF Cup in December.
Having scored two wins over South Korea, but trailing that country in a goal difference, Indonesia took to Tuesday's match in Group H, which also consists of Timor Leste and Brunei, with knowledge that only a win would earn it an automatic berth to Qatar.
The outcome confounded expectations, as the home side failed to cope with its defense, particularly in the second half, which resulted in them picking the ball out from their own net four times.
The Koreans scored through Jung Seung-hyun in the 52nd minute, Lee Chan-dong (in the 71st), Kim Seung-jun (in the 83rd) and Lee Chang-min (in the 87th).
Coach Aji Santoso said the first goal came at the expense of his players' letup in marshalling their defense.
'That first goal brought the players down. It made their concentration lag,' he said as quoted by Antara news agency.
Korea, which had won 5-0 and 3-0 over Brunei and Timor Leste in previous matches, tops the group with nine points, followed by Indonesia with the six points it gained by beating Brunei 2-0 and Timor Leste 5-0.
Timor Leste took the third position after defeating Brunei 3-0 later in the day.
Indonesia's Manahati Lestusen blamed fatigue for the loss.
'We tried hard, but the outcome turned against us. We have to admit physical drain was partly a factor for our failure to play optimally,' Manahati said.
The qualifying matches feature 10 groups, three of which consist of five teams. Group winners and five best runners-up will advance to Qatar, which will host the tournament early next year.
A draw would have left Indonesia still in contention.
In order to ensure equality when comparing the runner-up teams in all groups, the results of the matches between the runner-up teams and the bottom-placed teams in the five-team Groups A, B and C are considered null and void.
The best runner-up teams in the groups will be determined by the number of points obtained from group matches, goal differentials, number of goals scored, number of wins, the fewer scores calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received and the drawing of lots.
Based on those criteria, Indonesia is falling outside the top five as best runners-up behind Thailand (Group G), Iran (C), Vietnam, (I), Yemen (D) and Uzbekistan (E).
