Missing key players like Marselino Ferdinan, Rafael Struick and Ivar Jenner, Indonesia fielded a squad with 14 players who had yet to feature for the U23 team. The team also welcomed two players of Indonesian descent: defender Brandon Scheunemann (Germany) and striker Jens Raven (Netherlands), who had previously starred in the 2024 ASEAN U19 Boys Championship.

Against a Brunei ranked 183rd in the world, Indonesia dominated the match, controlling 84% of possession and producing 28 shots, with 14 on target. The hosts completed 631 passes with 91% accuracy, while Brunei managed just 55 passes at 40% accuracy.

The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium saw only 2,743 spectators in attendance, despite the venue’s capacity of nearly 77,000. The crowd celebrated as early as the second minute when Raven opened the scoring after a cross from Rayhan Hannan on the right flank. Six minutes later, Indonesia broke Brunei’s offside trap as Achmad Syarif’s shot hit goalkeeper Khairul Hisyam. Robi Darwis then passed to Raven, who calmly finished with his left foot to make it 2-0.

With a comfortable lead, Indonesia continued to capitalize on Brunei’s mistakes. Raven scored four more goals, starting with a hat-trick goal in the 30th minute, when a mistake by Brunei allowed him to finish with his right foot into the top corner. Three minutes later, he scored again from a throw-in, beating the goalkeeper with a shot from the outside of his right foot.

Raven’s fifth goal came in the 40th minute from the penalty spot, after a foul by Muhd Irfan on Rahmat Reski. The striker’s sixth goal came in the 62nd minute when a long pass from Muhammad Ferrari allowed Raven to sprint past two defenders and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper to complete the 8-0 score.

In between Raven’s goals, Arkhan Fikri (20th minute) and Rayhan Hannan (35th minute) both scored from long-range efforts, each hitting the target from 22 m out.

The victory catapulted Indonesia to the top of Group A, surpassing the Philippines, who had defeated Malaysia 2-0 earlier. Indonesia’s 8-0 win also set a tournament record, matching Thailand’s 2005 group stage victory over Cambodia.

The next round of Group A matches will be held on July 18 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, with Indonesia facing the Philippines and Brunei taking on Malaysia.