Coach Shin: 'Indonesia only played at 70% of their strength'

Qatar coach Shin Tae-yong believes that the Indonesian team can cause a surprise at the 2023 Asian Cup, despite losing all three friendly matches before the tournament.

Indonesian fans are worried about Shin and his team ahead of the Asian Cup, after they lost two consecutive matches to Libya, then suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat to Iran. The team's current situation is very different from the last time they participated in the Asian Cup in 2007. At that time, Indonesia had an impressive run-up to the tournament, beating Hong Kong 3-0, Jamaica 2-1 and only losing to Oman 0-1.

Coach Shin Tae-yong (left) during Indonesia's training session in Qatar on January 8, 2023. Photo: PSSI — Coach Shin Tae-yong (left) during Indonesia's training session in Qatar on January 8, 2023. Photo: *PSSI*

The Korean coach had to speak up to calm the media and public opinion in Indonesia, before the opening match against Iraq. "Our performance only reached 60% to 70% of the requirements, until the match against Iran," Sports Seoul quoted Mr. Shin. "The players need to try to improve their ability by 20% at the Asian Cup. As long as we don't make individual mistakes, we can cause a surprise."

After playing well in the 2007 friendly matches, Indonesia entered the Asian Cup in a dream with a 2-1 win over Bahrain at Bung Karno Stadium, with goals from Budi Sudarsono and Bambang Pamungkas. But in the next two matches, they lost 1-2 to Saudi Arabia and 0-1 to South Korea, so they could not pass the group stage.

If Indonesia repeats its third place finish in Group D as in the 2007 Asian Cup, it still has a chance to advance this time because the tournament takes four of the six third-placed teams from each group. According to football expert Mohamad Kusnaeni, this prospect is feasible for Shin and his team. "Indonesia can advance if they beat Vietnam, and earn a point from the two matches against Iraq and Japan. This can happen," Kusnaeni said.

However, Kusnaeni also hopes that Indonesia will play better than in friendly matches, or like the second half of the match against Libya on January 5. At that time, they played aggressively, created many good chances but could not score, and lost 1-2. Indonesia also held Iran to a 0-0 draw after the first half on January 9, but conceded five goals in the second half.

Indonesia is in Group D with Vietnam, Iraq and Japan at the 2024 Asian Cup in Qatar. Coach Shin and his team will play Iraq at 9:30 p.m. on January 15, then face Vietnam on January 19, and then face Japan on January 24.

Hoang An

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