It sure feels a lot like dejavu here in Surabaya with all four teams in the semi-finals of the AFF Under-16 Championship an exact replica of the AFF U19 less than a month ago.
And not only were the four teams the same – Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand – they will also be playing against the same exact order.
Indonesia playing against Malaysia while Thailand will take on Myanmar in the semi-finals of the championship tomorrow.
“The Malaysians are one of the best teams here as evident in their matches against both Laos and Thailand. But while our target is not for this championship, we still want to do well and win for the fans who have come out to the stadium to support us,” said Indonesian head coach Fakhri Hussaini.
“We will have one player suspended (Muhammad Fahmi Daniel Zaaim). But we have other players as our plan was always to give everyone playing time. That is important. It will be a tough game in the semi-finals with their viceferous fans but they should savour the experience,” added Malaysian head coach Raja Azlan Shah
“It does not matter who we play against in the semi-finals, as our target is clear and that is to win all matches in this tournament. The team has been shaping up well as they keep to the philosophy and also playing style that we have developed. That is important,” said Thailand head coach Thongchai Rungreangleas.
“We are ready for the semi-finals. The last match against Vietnam was exceptionally testing defensively. But the players showed that we can be tactically disciplined. And especially against Thailand, we have to be patient and disciplined. But I have trust in my players and they have been playing very well,” said Myanmar head coach Nyi Nyi Latt.
In the meantime following this morning’s Team Managers meeting, the kick off time for the Indonesia-Malaysia clash has been pushed to later to accommodate ‘live’ programming.
The Indonesia-Malaysia game will now be played at 1900hrs while the Thailand-Myanmar tie will be played at 1530hrs.
Both games will be played at the Delta Sidoarjo Stadium.
FIXTURES
9 Aug 2018 –Semifinals
Both matches at the Delta Sidoarjo Stadium
1530: Thailand vs Myanmar
1900: Indonesia vs Malaysia
