Late on April 14, U17 Indonesia officially stopped after losing to U17 North Korea with a score of 0-6 in the quarter-finals of the 2025 AFC U17 Championship.

With this result, U17 North Korea will face U17 Uzbekistan in the semi-final on April 17.

Despite stopping in the quarter-finals, the "island country" team still won the right to participate in the 2025 U17 World Cup. This ticket was determined after they won the second match of Group C.

However, the head coach of U17 Indonesia still feels disappointed and guilty towards the fans and the Indonesian Football Federation after suffering a disastrous defeat against U17 North Korea.

“I am very sorry to end my journey here. North Korea are a strong opponent and they played very well today. However, we lost the game early and suffered a big loss.

I would like to apologize to the fans who expected a dramatic match. However, this will be a valuable lesson for the young players to better prepare for the World Cup,” Mr. Nova Arianto shared.

However, he still praised his players for achieving their goal of qualifying for the U17 World Cup: “I want the players to be proud of their excellent qualification for the World Cup and their successful tournament.

The 2025 U17 World Cup finals will take place from November 10 to December 2 in Qatar. Therefore, the Southeast Asian representatives still have plenty of time to prepare for the tournament.

“We still have a lot to improve if we want to make a mark at the World Cup and the next seven months will be very important for Indonesia U17,” coach Arianto added.