Indonesia's star confidently declares ambition to win the AFF Cup title.

U19 Indonesia's skipper proudly announces the aim to conquer Southeast Asia, emphasizing that the squad is well-prepared ahead of their match against U19 Vietnam.

Pre-match atmosphere The 2026 U19 Southeast Asian Championship is heating up as hosts Indonesia have been issuing confident statements one after another. Recently, U19 Indonesia captain Putu Panji declared that the archipelago nation's biggest goal is nothing less than the championship title, despite the tournament not yet officially starting and U19 Vietnam still being considered one of the top contenders.

With just over two days left until the tournament officially kicks off on Indonesian soil, the fact that they are in the same group as U19 Vietnam has drawn special attention from regional media. However, instead of being cautious against strong opponents, skipper I Putu Panji has shown great confidence in his team's ability to claim the title after an extended preparation period.

"We certainly share the same ambition, especially since most of our teammates are former members of the national U20 team. My personal goal is to give my all for the team and win the AFF Championship. We are very optimistic. We have a very good team... we are very confident, we can do it and become champions," the U19 Indonesia captain declared strongly to the local media.

Not only confident in the squad, the player born in 2008 also highly praised the team's preparations for this year's tournament. According to Panji, the whole team had an effective training camp in Jogja along with several friendly matches to refine tactics and strengthen cohesion before entering the official competition.

"Most of our opponents in this year's tournament are very strong. But we have also prepared very well. During the two-week training camp in Jogja, we also held some test matches,"Panji added when talking about the team's preparation process.

Additionally, the young Indonesian star also revealed that the team recently played two friendlies against clubs from League 4 and achieved positive results. "Yesterday before departing, we organized two friendly matches, both against League 4 clubs. Yes, the results so far are quite good, and we have achieved what Coach Nova wanted," Panji stated. Despite being very confident, the U19 Indonesia captain emphasized that the whole team needs to focus fully on each match rather than thinking about the championship too early. "That's right, let's concentrate and focus on each match, of course. That's all," Panji stressed.