Indonesian U-23 National Team To The Fall Round, Shin Tae-yong: New Target Reached 50 Percent

Shin Tae-yong set a target to reach the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup (doc. PSSI).

JAKARTA - The U-23 Indonesian national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, is happy to be able to bring his team through to the quarter-finals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. Even so, he admitted that this achievement was only half of his personal target.

The U-23 Indonesian national team managed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup after winning 4-1 over Jordan U-23. In the third match of Group A at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Qatar, Sunday, April 21, 2024, Marcelino Ferdinand's two goals and one goal each from Komang Teguh and Witan Sulaeman were the determinants.

The three points that brought the U-23 Indonesian national team to the quarter-finals clearly made Shin Tae-yong meet the target set by the PSSI General Chair, Erick Thohir.

Previously, the South Korean coach was asked to take the team to the knockout stages.

Even though he has met the target of PSSI, Shin Tae-yong is not satisfied. He said that this result was a half-way stone or half of the personal target he set, which was to bring the U-23 Indonesian national team to qualify for the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

"I have only reached 50 percent of the targets I have set," said Shin Tae-yong in an official statement after the match, quoted Monday, April 22, 2024.

For the sake of that target, Shin Tae-yong still has to struggle to guard his team to face South Korea or Japan in the quarter-finals. As a thorough and serious preparation for the target, he digs deeper into information regarding the opponent.

"In the quarter-finals, we don't know who will be faced, South Korea or Japan. However, I will watch the match (between South Korea vs Japan)," said the 53-year-old coach.

After successfully bringing the team to qualify for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup quarter-finals, Shin Tae-yong did not forget to appreciate the performance of the team that performed well on the field.

He also presented this result to all parties and fans who have always supported the U-23 Indonesian national team.

"So, I'm happy we did a good job on the field. I want to share this victory not only with players, but also with everyone at PSSI, all Indonesian fans, in particular I thank the players who played very well today," said the coach.