Optimistic Indonesia Appears 'Bite' At The Toulon Tournament, Coach Dzenan Radoncic: They Know What I Want

U-19 national team (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian U-19 national team for the 2022 Toulon Tournament, Dzenan Radoncic, is optimistic that his squad will be able to "bite" in the youth soccer competition held in France.

"This team can play well. They know what I want," said Radoncic, quoted from the PSSI website in Jakarta, Thursday.

Assistant coach Shin Tae-yong in the Indonesian national team assessed that his foster children had shown an impressive performance throughout the preparation period for the Toulon Tournament.

In the latest test match against Persita, last Wednesday, the "Garuda Nusantara" team was able to hold their opponent from the Indonesian League 1 to a 1-1 draw. The only goal of the U-19 national team was scored by Resa Aditya.

According to Radoncic, the U-19 national team can dominate the match with a slick, high-intensity game.

Their defense was solid, as well as pressing games that made it difficult for Persita to develop the game.

"We guarded and controlled the opponent very well. Yes, I think yesterday we played a desirable and good game. I am very, very satisfied with that. The players followed the instructions given by the coach. They learned quickly," said Radoncic.

The match against Persita which was held at the Bung Karno Intermediate Stadium, Jakarta, was witnessed directly by Shin Tae-yong.

Shin was decided not to directly train the U-19 national team that will go to Toulon because he focused on preparing the Indonesian national team squad for the FIFA friendly against Bangladesh, 1 June 2022 in Bandung and the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kuwait on 8-14 June 2022.

This made the U-19 national team temporarily led by Radoncic and the coach of the Indonesian U-16 national team, Bima Sakti.

The 2022 Toulon Tournament will take place from 29 May-12 June 2022 in France. In the tournament for U-17 to U-23 players, Indonesia is in Group B with Mexico, Ghana and Venezuela.

The Toulon tournament is also one of the preparations for the U-19 national team for the U-20 World Cup in 2023.