Kurniawan Apologizes After Indonesia U-17 Beaten by Malaysia, Highlights Focus and Finishing

Indonesia U-17 coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto apologized after Indonesia U-17 suffered a 0-1 defeat to Malaysia in the Group A stage of the 2026 AFF U-17 Cup. Despite the loss, Kurniawan still appreciated his team's hard work.

Playing at Gelora Joko Samudro Stadium, Gresik, East Java, Indonesia actually showed quite dominant gameplay. However, one moment of lost focus became the decisive difference in the final result. 

“I apologize for this unsatisfactory result, but I still give appreciation to all players. Certainly, this becomes evaluation material for the team going forward,” said Kurniawan during the post-match press conference.

Kurniawan saw his squad was able to control the game's rhythm but failed to maintain full concentration for 90 minutes. According to him, this is an important lesson that must be immediately corrected if they want to compete at the tournament level.

“We must focus for 90 minutes because our mistakes produced a goal for the opponent,” he stated.

Besides the focus issue, finishing became another homework. Indonesia created opportunities, but none became goals.

“We controlled the game, but several chances didn't turn into goals,” he said.

Amid disappointment, Kurniawan maintained perspective. He emphasized this loss should not damage the Players' Mentality, which is still in the character-building phase. In U-17 Football, psychological aspects are often as crucial as tactics.

“I don't want this defeat to break their mentality because this age is still sensitive,” he explained.

He hopes the players remain confident and quickly bounce back for the next match, especially when facing Vietnam.

“In football, anything can happen; we will fight for 90 minutes against Vietnam,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesia U-17 player Chico Jericho Yarangga saw this defeat as part of the learning process. He asserted the team gave their all on the field, even if the result didn't meet expectations.

“We all worked hard, and this becomes an evaluation for the Vietnam match to be better,” he said.

Indonesia's chance to advance from the group stage is not closed yet. However, the next match will test whether Garuda Muda can learn quickly from defeat or fall into the same mistakes again.