Doha. Indonesia suffered a disappointing 0-2 defeat against Qatar in the AFC U-23 Championship Group A match held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Monday. The Garuda squad ended the game with just nine players on the field, leaving them at the bottom of the Group A standings following the defeat.

The host team secured victory with a 2-0 scoreline, claiming the top spot in Group A with 3 points. Australia and Jordan currently hold the second and third positions, respectively, each with 1 point.

Indonesia was reduced to nine players after Ivar Jenner and Ramadhan Sananta received red cards during the match.

Following the game, coach Shin Tae-yong couldn't hide his anger and disappointment towards referee Nasrullo Kabirov and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Sivakorn Pu-Udom, who he felt disadvantaged Indonesia.

"Congratulations to Qatar. The players did their best to deliver a good performance, especially considering we were down in numbers and didn't give up easily. However, many of the referee's decisions throughout the game, if you look at them, it's not a football match, it's a comedy show and highly exaggerated," Coach Shin Tae-yong said at the post-match press conference.

"I can't say anything about the players who received red cards, I'm speechless. Football shouldn't be played like this. On our first red card, there was no contact at all. Why did they use VAR in situations like this?" the South Korean coach added.

Qatar took the lead in the first half with Khalid Ali Sabah scoring in the 45+1 minute through a penalty kick awarded by the referee for a foul committed by Indonesian defender Rizky Ridho against Qatari player Mahdi Salem. Initially, the referee awarded a free kick to Indonesia, but after consulting VAR, he ruled in favor of Qatar, leading to protests from the Indonesian players. Sabah calmly converted the penalty, beating goalkeeper Ernando.

Ramadhan Sananta was also shown a direct red card during the match. Initially, the referee had issued a yellow card, but after a VAR review, he upgraded it to a red card during injury time.

Shortly after, in the 54th minute, Indonesia conceded their second goal as Ahmed Al-Rawi found the net with a free kick. Head coach Shin Tae-yong also received a yellow card during the game.

Despite being under pressure for most of the game, the Indonesian national team managed to threaten Qatar's goal, with Pratama Arhan's throw-ins causing concern among the Qatari players.

Indonesia had a golden opportunity when Rafael Struick's shot narrowly missed the left side of Qatar's goal, hitting the post instead.

Indonesian U-23 national team coach Shin Tae-yong deployed a five-defender formation in the starting lineup, using a 5-3-2 formation for their opening match in the AFC U-23 Championship.

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