The Indonesian National Team Gets Lessons From The Trial, Mastering The Ball And Creating Opportunities To Be Focused

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team lost again to the test party. Most recently, Shin Tae-yong's team lost 0-5 to Iran at the Al Rayyan Sports Club, Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.

Previously, in two test parties in Turkey against Libya, the Indonesian national team also lost by a score of 0-4 and 1-2.

This means that the Garuda Squad can only score one goal in all trials in the context of preparing for the 2023 Asian Cup.

Shin Tae-yong realized the lack of the Indonesian national team in threatening the opponent's goal. This is now the focus of his attention in the final training camp in Qatar before competing in the 2023 Asian Cup.

"Indeed, in the future we will definitely have more possession of the ball from the opponent. We will train how we can counterattack and create good opportunities," said Shin Tae-yong.

In addition to attack lines, the South Korean coach also paid attention to the back sector which often made their own mistakes and resulted in conceding.

He wants this to be minimized in the 2023 Asian Cup considering that the opponents of the Indonesian national team are tough teams. Joined in Group D, the Garuda Squad will face Iraq (15/1/2024), Vietnam (19/1/2024), and Japan (24/1/2024).

Blunders often occur in the back lines of the Garuda Squad. In the match against Iran, Shin Tae-yong admitted that his own mistakes in defense allowed opponents to score three goals in the first half through Shaman Ghoddoos (2'), Roozbeh Cheshmi (21'), and Saman Fallah (35').

Mistakes also occurred when they fought Libya twice. Libya's two goals came from defenders' mistakes in the first meeting. Then, there was one backline blunder as well as in the second encounter.

The Indonesian national team has been undergoing training camps (TC) since December 20, 2023 in Turkey to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup. Since January 6, 2024, they have moved to the TC location in Qatar.