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The Indonesia U-23 national team ensured themselves qualifying for the last 16 of men's football in the 2018 Asian Games. This was after Qatar's defeat from Bangladesh.
Indonesia actually just played a determination match against Hong Kong at the Candrabhaga Patriot Stadium on Monday (08/20/2018) tomorrow night WIB. The Garuda squad is currently third in the group with six points from three matches, one point difference from Hong Kong in second and two points from Palestine at the top.
Palestine and Hong Kong have ensured their escape first, while Indonesia must play a decisive match. However, a fresh breeze came to the Red and White camp following the third matchday result of Group B on Sunday (08/19/2018) night WIB.
It is the result of the fight between Qatar counter Bangladesh which helped Indonesia qualify for the last 16 at least as the third best. Bangladesh won 1-0 over Qatar who were eliminated as caretakers, while Uzbekistan won 1-0 over Thailand.
Bangladesh qualified as runners-up with four points, behind Uzbekistan who won the group with perfect points. There are only four best third places that qualify, while Indonesia is in the top position in the standings of these teams.
The reason is, only Indonesia (3 points) has only played twice and has a goal difference of +3 goals. While the other three teams, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan (3 points) have a worse goal difference, while Thailand only has two points.
Indeed there are still Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and North Korea, which can shift Indonesia's position tomorrow from the top of the third-ranked standings. But, Indonesia won from the side of productivity so that it was able to seal 16 tickets.