It's A Shame For The National Team Without Elkan Baggott And Sandy Walsh In The 2022 AFF Cup, STY: Their Club Not ENDing Indonesia

Indonesian national team coach, Shin Tae-yong. (Photo: Doc. PSSI)

JAKARTA The coach of the Indonesian national team Shin Tae Yong regretted that Elkan Baggott and Sandy Walsh could not appear with the Garuda squad in the 2022 AFF Cup. The two players could not be mentioned for different reasons.

Sandy was not released by his club KV Mechelen, while Baggott preferred to help Gillingham FC.

"Indeed, during the TC U-19 in Europe, I immediately came to the clubs Sandy and Elkan. At that time the results were positive even though there was no certainty," said Shin Tae-yong.

Shin said he had actually asked Elkan Baggott to join after the preliminary round and Sandy could join after the inaugural match against Cambodia.

However, the effort then bore fruitless. Especially KV Mechelen, who did not want to release their players from the AFF Cup, was not included in the FIFA international football parent calendar.

"But I see that their team does not think of Indonesia. They should look for a win-win solution, but there is no good answer. So it's a shame they don't exist," said the 52-year-old coach.

The championship, which involves a country in Southeast Asia, has started rolling on Tuesday, December 20, 2022. Indonesia is just starting its journey against Cambodia, Friday, December 23.

Shin's men played a total of two home games and two away matches in the group stage. Apart from fighting Cambodia, Indonesia also played home against Thailand.

Meanwhile, the two away matches are against the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam. The two matches will be direct at the Rizal Memorial and Kuala Lumpur Stadium. The Garuda squad is still curious about finding the first title of the biennial competition. The reason is, from the six opportunities to enter the final, Indonesia always came out as runners up in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2020, respectively.