Shin Tae-yong Immediately Transfers The Focus Of The Indonesian National Team To The 2026 World Cup Qualification
JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian national team, Shin Tae-yong, did not want his team to get stuck in the slump after losing to Australia in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup. He immediately wanted to shift his focus against Vietnam in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the Asian Zone.
The Indonesian national team's steps were stopped in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup after losing 0-4 to Australia. The knockout match was held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar, on Sunday, January 28, 2024, evening WIB.
After the match, Shin Tae-yong then congratulated Australia for qualifying for the last eight. Despite losing, he also admitted that there were many lessons to be learned in this match.
"First of all congratulations to Australia. We learned a lot from this match," said Shin Tae-yong after the match, quoted on Monday, January 29, 2024.
"To be honest, about the performance of our team, today's match is our best performance," he said.
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After losing to Australia, the Indonesian national team had to lift the suitcase from the 2023 Asian Cup. Even so, the coach did not want his squad to long lament the defeat.
The South Korean coach immediately shifted the focus of the players to return to give their best against Vietnam in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the Asian Zone.
"The next target is that we want to win in the World Cup Qualification (2026)," said Shin Tae-yong.
"The first two matches in Iraq and the Philippines, we lost one and one draw. So, in March (2024) we want to get good results," he said.
The meeting of the Indonesia vs Vietnam national team is one of the agendas for the second round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification in the Asian Zone. Joined in Group F, the Red-White Team must compete with Iraq, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
So far, the Garuda Squad has played two matches. As a result, lost to Iraq (1-5) and drew against the Philippines (1-1). Therefore, the Indonesian national team cannot lose points again if they want to keep their hopes of qualifying for the next round.