Hosts Indonesia will undoubtedly face tougher tests along the way in their quest to win the ASEAN U-23 Championship.
Nonetheless, in a real warning to those hoping to stand in their path over the next fortnight, they could not have made a more emphatic start at the tournament -- officially know as the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup 2025 -- than with the 8-0 rout they inflicted on a hapless Brunei Darussalam at Gelora Bung Karno on Tuesday evening.
Perhaps they could have, considering they were seven goals ahead at halftime and only managed to net one more after the break.
But that is a statement in jest. And it would have been far too cruel on Brunei, whose senior team -- it must be acknowledged -- sit 65 spots below Indonesia in the FIFA world rankings in a humble 183rd place.
Brunei have not made it past the first round of any qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup. They have never even featured at the AFC Asian Cup.
Indonesia, from their recent resurgence since the start of the decade, are the only Southeast Asian team still in the running to reach next year's World Cup.
The scoreline, while admittedly one-sided, should not be seen as an indictment on Brunei. They are simply not nearly at the level of Indonesia at the moment, nor probably for the foreseeable future.
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What can be read into the result, however, is the frightening talent Indonesia seem to have to bolster an already-formidable senior squad that has recorded some impressive results in the ongoing Asian qualifiers for the next World Cup -- including a famous win over Saudi Arabia -- over the past year or so.
Indonesia's improvement on the senior international stage has been aided by a concerted recruiting effort at players who have learnt and plied their trade in Europe -- largely from Netherlands -- but are available to represent them through their ancestry.
While players such as Irfan Bachdim, Sergio van Dijk and Raphael Maitimo were among the pioneering generation, the current Timnas squad boasts top-level quality such as Jay Idzes -- who captains a Venezia outfit who only last season were relegated from Serie A -- and Kevin Diks, who just earned a move to Bundesliga mainstays Borussia Mönchengladbach after a league-and-cup double triumph in Denmark with FC Copenhagen.
On Tuesday, their next Dutch-born star could just have been unleashed.
From the time he opened the scoring inside the first two minutes to completing his hat-trick just after the half-hour mark, Jens Raven was unstoppable.
It was like watching the proverbial contest of men against boys -- in this instance, a solitary man -- as Brunei simply could not cope with Raven's hulking 1.89-metre frame, which saw him tower almost two heads taller than some opponents.
The plot twist? He is still only 19.
More than just his physical prowess, Raven showed other sides to his game.
He regularly found pockets of space to exploit with his intelligent movement, showed a willingness to drift outside the penalty box to provide an easier passing option and, most importantly, looks a handy finisher.
Like all good strikers, he also seems to enjoy a touch of luck in front of goal.
Even when he failed to connect cleanly with a shot, he somehow still managed to scuff the ball into the turf and looping over the bewildered Brunei goalkeeper for his final goal in the 62nd minute.
Indonesia had other handy contributors, including Arkhan Fikri and Rayhan Hannan -- who both got on the scoresheet as well with fine long-range efforts -- but Raven's big bag of goals means it is impossible that he will not be the headlining name all across Indonesia on the night, and well into Wednesday morning.
For Raven, and Indonesia, the real challenge will be to back it up against stronger opposition but, even before Tuesday's match, Timnas had already looked the team to beat at the tournament.
Philippines' surprising 2-0 win over Malaysia earlier on Tuesday might mean it is them rather than the latter that could be Indonesia's likeliest challengers for top spot in Group A and its accompanying automatic semifinal berth.
Even then, perhaps Indonesia's mettle will only be tested come the last four or beyond, when they could face two-time defending champions Vietnam or Thailand -- who are the only other teams that, on paper, look a realistic title chance.
For now, Indonesia are favourites for a reason and their case was only strengthened by new spearhead they unleashed on Brunei.
In the future, it might not be too long before a high-flying Raven is doing the same on the senior stage.