East Timor coach directly points out team's weakness ahead of match against Vietnam U17

Coach Emral Abus stated that psychological factors and disadvantages in physique were the reasons for East Timor U17's heavy defeat to Indonesia in their opening match.

Sharing after the 0-4 loss to Indonesia U17, Coach Emral of East Timor U17 said: "That is normal for a away match. They were somewhat nervous. Actually, we had anticipated everything," he stated.

According to Coach Emral Abus, besides psychological factors, the difference in players' physique was a major obstacle for East Timor in this match. This strategist also emphasized that the height advantage of Indonesian players caused difficulties for his team in judging set-piece situations and chaotic plays in the defensive area.

"Indeed, the physique of Timor Leste players is truly a problem. Indonesian players, most of them are tall. We only have a few tall players, about two or three. The rest of the Indonesian team was ready for a height-balanced match," Emral explained.

Despite the heavy defeat to Indonesia U17, Coach Emral Abus still praised the effort displayed by Timor Leste players.

"We gave instructions and evaluations to them, I told them what they had to do. And the players executed what we assigned to them," he said.

"I apologize to the fans and people of Timor Leste. The players gave their best but could not secure points," this strategist concluded.

In the second match of Group A, East Timor U17 continues to face another major challenge, which is Vietnam U17.