The U-23 National Team Returns To Training After A Short Holiday, Shin Tae-yong Has Difficulty Predicting Player Conditions

Shin Tae-yong (PSSI)

JAKARTA – The coach of the Indonesian U-23 national team, Shin Tae-yong, is still having trouble predicting the condition of his players. This was motivated by the short vacation the players had just gotten.

The South Korean coach's squad has just had a two-day vacation. They then resumed training at the Gelora Samudra Stadium, Bali, on Monday, February 7.

The holiday is given because the player must receive a booster vaccine. In addition, several retainers of the national team were also allowed to defend their respective clubs in the Indonesian League 1 competition this season.

"Honestly, I don't know about the condition of the players," said Shin Tae-yong, quoted on the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) official website.

The 51-year-old coach has called up 29 players to attend this month's AFF U-23 Cup preparation training camp in Cambodia. However, only a few players joined the post-holiday training camp.

Because some of the squad had not yet joined, Shin Tae-yong also gave a light menu on the first day after the break. The training menu includes conditioning training and basic exercises such as passing.

"Because some of the new players have joined, it's incomplete, they just returned from the club. So, just recovery practice,” said Shin.

The 2022 AFF U-23 Cup will take place on 14-26 February 2022. In the tournament, the Garuda Muda squad is in Group B with Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia.

Primary Arhan and friends will face Laos in the first match on February 15. Three days later the Indonesia U-23 squad will meet Myanmar, followed by Malaysia in the final match of the preliminary round.

The match between Indonesia and Malaysia is predicted to be fierce because of the rivalry between the two teams. The duel between the two is also expected to be the winner of the group.

Of the three groups that fought, only three winning teams from each group automatically qualified for the semifinals. Meanwhile, one remaining ticket slot will be given to the team that gets the best runner-up title.