Australia have confirmed their place in next year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup after beating Indonesia 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the AFC U16 Championship that was played this afternoon at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The win over Indonesia has also given Australia a place in the semi-finals of the AFC meet where they will play Japan next on Thursday.
“I think every team that has come here has the purpose to go to the World Cup and that’s one of the things we came here to do. We came here to win matches and earn some respect for ourselves and we are fortunate we were good enough to win,” said Australian head coach Trevor Morgan.
Sutan Diego gave Indonesia the best of start with the first goal of the game on 32 minutes with a low drive to the bottom corner of the Australian net.
But Australia would not stay down and just five minutes into the second half, they got the equaliser when Daniel Walsh nodded home a Birkan Kirdar’s free-kick.
Adam Leombruno then fired past Ernando in the 64th minute for Australia to take the lead as they then stretched it to 3-1 advantage with Botic beating the offside trap in the 73rd minute.
Rendy Juliansyah then gave Indonesia a glimmer of hope with the second goal a minute to the end but that failed to prevent Australia from making the grade.
“Losing 3-2 is not the result we wanted. I’m proud of my players, they have given everything. It’s extraordinary what they have achieved. Even though they are just boys, they must learn to adapt in match situations. The first goal was the hardest to take, they are just 16-year-old boys and it’s hard to come back immediately,” said Indonesian head coach Fackhri Husaini.
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PHOTOS: AFC
