JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team needs to score against Vietnam in the second leg of the AFF Cup semifinals to be able to maintain the hope of qualifying for the top party. A 1-1 draw is enough to lead the Garuda Squad to qualify for the final round.
The real task is quite easy, but not for the Indonesian national team. The reason is, Shin Tae-yong's troops were eroded by the problem of finishing in front of goal.
The coach has been complaining about this problem since the group phase.
The Indonesian national team did score 12 goals in the group stage, but seven of them were created against the goal barn, Brunei Darussalam.
The rest, two goals against Cambodia and the Philippines and one goal against Thailand.
Even when facing Vietnam in the first leg at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Marc Klok and his friends failed to score.
Actually Shin is not just silent. He's tried many times, but the result is still disappointing.
Shin has been making fun of his front lines several times. Almost all players are tried.
In the match against Cambodia in the first match of the Group A phase, the Korean coach fielded Muhammad Rafli as a striker from the start of the match. He was supported by Ricky Kambuaya, Egy Maulana Vikri and Witan Sulaeman.
Two goals were scored through Egy and Witan even though there were 19 shots with eight of them pointing to the target.
When they won 7-0 against Brunei, Ilija Spasojevic was played from the start as the spearhead. He received support from Saddil Ramdani, Egy and Dendy Sulystiawan.
Spasojevic, Egy and Dendy also scored goals. Ramadhan Sananta, who came on as a substitute, also contributed goals.
Meanwhile, when they hosted Thailand at SUGBK, Shin tried a new tactic by pairing Witan with Dendy up front. Egy and Yakob Sayuri are played as wing players.
As a result, only one goal was created. Even then, through a penalty, Marc Klok.
In the final match of the group phase against the Philippines, Shin played Dendy Sulystiawan as the spearhead. He received support from Marselino Ferdinand, Saddil and Witan Sulaeman.
Dendy and Marselino scored in this match and gave the national team a 2-1 win. Whereas based on statistics there were 20 shots in which seven of them led to the goal.
Shin again experimented by placing Dendy Sulistyawan as the spearhead. While Yakob and Marselino played slightly wide on the wings.
Unfortunately, in eight shots, of which two point to the goal, nothing has been converted into a winning goal.
Interestingly later, who else will Shin try to end the problem when it comes to finishing in front of goal.
Ramadan Sananta hasn't been tried since the start, but Shin doesn't seem to want to gamble considering the importance of this second leg. Ilija Spasojevic is also worth a try.
Apart from players, Shin could return to experiment with the formation of players. Surely the former Korean national team coach will prepare the best team for proud results.
Although his team's performance has not been so convincing, Shin still believes in the opportunity to be able to go through the next round. According to him, the performance of his team is getting more stable.
"The Indonesian national team is stable and better than before," Shin said in a press conference ahead of the match, Sunday, January 8, as quoted by Antara.
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