Naturalized striker of U23 Indonesia admits the strength of U23 Vietnam

On the evening of July 29, U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Indonesia 1-0 to win the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. The defeat at home made many players from the "island country" feel defeated.

“Honestly, U23 Vietnam played very tightly, they closed in very quickly making it difficult to create opportunities. I was really speechless. They had an impressive day” - Jens Raven shared after the match with CNN Indonesia.

On a day when goalkeeper Trung Kien played very focused, it made the 19-year-old striker of U23 Indonesia discouraged.

The disciplined play and constant pressing made it difficult for the Ravens to get any space to play.

Despite losing to U23 Vietnam, scoring 7 goals for U23 Indonesia helped this naturalized striker win the title of Top Scorer of this year's tournament. Notably, he scored 6 goals in the opening match against U23 Brunei.

The 1.87m striker was born in the Netherlands and made his debut for the Indonesian national team a year ago. At the 2024 ASEAN U19 Football Championship, Raven impressed with 4 goals, including an important goal in the final match.