ndonesia remains atop Group G of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers after beating Thailand 1-0 before the War Elephants' home crowd at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Wednesday.
A draw or win against Laos, their opponent in a match scheduled on Friday, would secure Indonesia a ticket to the Championship in Malaysia, next year.
Indonesia started aggressively, with Sutan Diego coming close in the opening minutes, but Thai goalkeeper Natthawut Paengkrathok denied him.
However, the Garudas' early push paid off in the 20th minute after Mochammad Supriadi crossed the ball from the left and right-winger Amanar Abdillah Fadli struck home a goal, reported the AFC official website.
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Thailand were unlucky to not draw level as two attempts hit the woodwork in the second half.
Indonesia were already on six points, having won their opening two matches, crushing Northern Mariana Islands 18-0 and two days later beating Timor Leste 3-1. Wednesday's victory pushed them to nine points in Group G.
Potret aksi dan selebrasi Garuda Asia saat mengalahkan Thailand dan memastikan diri lolos ke putaran final AFC U-16 Championship 2018. pic.twitter.com/ZGGMEMh6E0
— PSSI - FAI (@pssi__fai) September 20, 2017
“We changed the players from the match that we lost to Thailand in the AFF U-15. We also studied and adjusted our tactics to neutralize Thailand's attacking,” said Indonesian coach Fakhri Husaini.
Thai coach Salvador Valero Garcia responded, “We tried to control the game as much as possible. However, we made lots of mistakes, which allowed Indonesia to hit us on counterattacks.” (bbs)
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