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Young team pull Indonesian football back from tragedy and humiliation
They booked their place in the gold-medal match against Thailand at the Southeast Asian Games with a pulsating 3-2 win over holders Vietnam.
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Indonesia's Witan Sulaeman (left) fights for the ball with Malaysia's Harith Haiqal bin Adam Afkar in the men's football bronze medal match between Indonesia and Malaysia during the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi on May 22, 2022.
(AFP/Ye Aung Thu)
I
ndonesia's men can restore pride to the country's football when they contest a major regional final Tuesday, following a deadly stadium disaster and humiliation at losing the right to host the U-20 World Cup.
They booked their place in the gold-medal match against Thailand at the Southeast Asian Games with a pulsating 3-2 win over holders Vietnam.
Gold for Indonesia would be their first in men's SEA Games football, which is contested between under-23 teams.
Taufany Muslihuddin was Indonesia's semi-final hero, hitting a 96th-minute winner in Phnom Penh on Saturday.
Underlining what it means to Indonesian football after a turbulent seven months, Taufany collapsed face-down on the grass and shook with emotion, before his teammates piled on top of him.
When the final whistle blew, Indonesian players and officials celebrated wildly on the pitch.
After the win, which came despite having a man sent off on the hour mark, head coach Indra Syafri said that the final was "the moment we've been waiting for to wake up Indonesian football".
