Indonesia beat difficult opponent Jordan 4-1 in the third round of the Asian qualifying round for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup and 2024 Paris Summer Olympics in Doha, Qatar, on the afternoon of the 21st (Korea time).
Indonesia, which lost 0-2 in the first match against Qatar without overcoming the referee’s absurd decision, faced Australia in the second match with its fast and daredevil football, which was unique to physical differences, and won 1-0.
The match against Jordan was also surprising. As the Southeast Asian team is particularly weak against the Middle East team, Indonesia did not enjoy much of it.
However, it seems that their younger brothers also took courage from their performance at the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar in January. Rather, better performances and results have instilled in Indonesia a dream of their first-ever participation in the Olympics.
Indonesian media are shedding light on Shin Tae-yong’s leadership. “Compass” introduced Shin’s remarks to the players. Shin played unfairly in the match against Qatar, with two players being sent off. Nevertheless, Shin said, “Forget the game against Qatar. We have to keep going,” and ordered the team to focus on its preparations for the match against Australia, which led to its 1-0 victory.
He also reportedly hoped the team would not shrink against Jordan. “I told him to step up with confidence as if he were playing in a stadium,” Shin said, adding that he instilled in his players that he was neither strong nor weak in the 11-11 match.
More than anything else, he was surprised by the fact that the Indonesian soccer community was passive, with Shin directly raising questions over referee decisions and even filing a complaint against FIFA right after the match against Qatar. They felt that Shin was truly fighting for Indonesia.
Recalling that he had difficulty in creating a proper team at a time when the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was prevalent, he said, “I formed a team four years ago, but I couldn’t play due to COVID-19 for two years. It has developed over the course of two years,” applauding the development of the players he has fostered.
The opponents are either Korea or Japan. Korea knows better than anyone else, but it is somewhat behind in its objective performance and Japan is the top contender in Asia. However, I remember facing my brothers at the Asian Cup. With the current momentum, we don’t know what the result will be.
He will likely tell his players to do their best until the result is released. “Whether I win or lose in the quarterfinals, I will do my best. I will show 100% of my performance,” he said, signaling that he will fight equally.
Responding to the series of moves, Firman Utina, a former Indonesian national team player, said, “The U-23 team has progressive performance. The players and the coaching staff understand well the goals that need to be achieved. They have good harmony between naturalized players and Korean players, and they complement each other,” praising Shin’s clear leadership and players’ motivation.
The contract between Shin and the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) ends in June. Since the team made the U-23 Championship as a standard for contract extension, chances are high that the team will renew its contract as long as it first reached the quarterfinals. PSSI is known to have priority over contract.
BY: 스포츠토토