With an expectant legion of fans -- the majority of the 35,592 gathered at Gelora Bung Karno on Tuesday evening -- behind them, Indonesia knew what was as on the line: win, and they would claim a second ASEAN U-23 Championship title -- and first since 2019.
There was, however, a formidable obstacle standing in their way in the form of two-time defending champions Vietnam -- already the tournament's record holder and looking to further strengthen their claim as kings of the region, at least at under-23 level.
As expected, the match was tight and tough. It was never going to be a free-flowing contest for the full 90 minutes given the stakes on offer.
There was feistiness to contest that even threatened to boil over on numerous occasions.
Yet, when the final whistle blew, composure and experience prevailed -- with Vietnam grinding out a 1-0 victory that was enough to see them win the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup 2025, as the tournament is officially known as.
As often is the case in finals, one moment was all that it took.
Whether the real cause of it came from Indonesia's hesistancy or Vietnam's opportunism, Nguyễn Công Phương's 37th-minute strike -- as he pounced on a loose ball to fire home an unerring finish -- proved decisive.
It would be harsh to suggest that Indonesia perhaps could have done better to handle that pivotal moment.
Yet, the fact of the matter remains that when Phạm Lý Đức met Nguyễn Đình Bắc's deep corner delivery at the back post and headed back into the danger area, five Indonesia players were inexplicably drawn to the same spot -- where Kakang Rudianto, forced to leap awkwardly in a crowded area, could only clear the ball a few yards away.
It dropped kindly to a waiting Công Phương, who was calm and clinical enough to send a first-time shot straight into the bottom corner.
The opening that led to Vietnam's winner was not enough a clear-cut one. A half-chance maybe, but they managed to take it.
Meanwhile, Indonesia just could not find the same poise when their opportunities arose.
And as early as the fifth minute, when a trademark long throw from Robi Darwis caused all sorts of problems -- with a Vietnam defender only able to help the ball on to the far post with an attempted clearance header.
In charged an unmarked Jens Raven, scorer of seven goals already from just three previous starts at the tournament. From five yards out, almost all would have expected to plant his header into the back of the net.
Instead, he got it all wrong as he connected with the wrong part of his head to send the ball flying way over.
While it was Indonesia who issued the first warning, Vietnam did not take long to force their way into the contest.
As always, they were up for the fight. They were nippy and never shied away from any 50-50 challenges.
More importantly, they kept their cool while Indonesia got flustered. Inside the opening 13 minutes, the hosts had already received two cautions.
The better opportunities continued to fall Indonesia's way as the Vietnam backline twice fell asleep before the half-hour mark.
Route one football looked to be working for Indonesia as a searching pass from the back send Rahmat Arjuna racing through in the 26th minute. The offside flag would have chalked off any goal even though Vietnam goalkeeper Trần Trung Kiên did deal with the threat.
Four minutes later, Trung Kiên's alertness off his line was important once more.
This time, it was Rayhan Hannan racing onto an over-the-top ball but, just as he looked up to assess where the goal was, Trung Kiên was already right in his face at the edge of the box to prevent a shooting chance.
Seven minutes later, Đình Bắc's opened the scoring -- handing Vietnam an advantage they would defend valiantly and, ultimately, successfully.
The second half saw Vietnam happy to sit back and invite their opposition to try and find a way through. The hosts would finish with 68% possession yet the final result suggests that hardly mattered.
With Vietnam already playing with a five-man defence, the four in midfield dropping deeper literally created two walls of resistance that Indonesia had to overcome.
Indonesia tried their best but it was perhaps surprising that until the 81st minute, only one substitution had been made. Striker Hokky Caraka, a regular feature in the senior squad even if not a first-teamer, had to wait till the 86th minute to come on -- having relinquished his place in the starting XI since the emergence of Raven.
In the end, Darwis' long throws looked the likeliest source of an Indonesia equaliser and Vietnam soon tried to limit their threat from the touchline, with coach Kim Sang-Sik almost humourously standing in the path of the former's run-up when it came within his technical area.
Such pieces of gamesmanship were increasingly frequent on the pitch as the match wore on.
Any chance they got, Vietnam players would stay down after being challenged.
Indonesia began to look more flustered when perhaps they should have just stayed focused. With many of them still in the early years of their careers, their frustrations boiling over was forgivable.
At the death, time seemed to stand still as the clocked ticked over into the 101st minute even though only five added minutes had been signalled.
Trung Kiên stayed down after competing for an aerial ball and took an eternity to return to his feet. As Indonesia tried to get the game restarted as quickly as possible, Darwis was made to wait and then had to retake his long throw on a couple of occasions with the referee blowing his whistle nonstop in a bid to ensure everything was in order for what was bound to be the final play.
In bizzare scenes, Kim's strategic placement of a number of water bottles, rather than his own body this time, to hinder Darwis' path earned him a caution -- only for that to be followed by the dismissal of one of Indonesia's technical staff as he charged in front of the opposite bench to clear the debris.
When the throw-in was finally allowed to be taken, Darwis curiously went short to goalkeeper Muhammad Ardiansyah well inside the Vietnam half.
With one final hit and hope, Ardiansyah launched the ball into the opposition area.
Unsurprisingly, Trung Kiên had made a full recovery. He charged off his line to claim with authority.
Moments later, the final whistle blew.
For all the reasons, the decider of this ASEAN U-23 Championship lived up to all the expectations.
The intensity, the drama and even the dark arts, which come about only because teams are willing to do whatever it takes to win, especially when regional bragging rights are on offer.
On this occasion, as they have for the past two as well and also the senior team's success at the most recent ASEAN Championship, Vietnam will get to brag all the want.