Shin Tae-yong: I Tell Players To Trust Me

Shin Tae-yong brought the U-23 Indonesian national team to make history (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - Before starting the journey in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, Shin Tae-yong immediately set a target to reach the semifinals in their first participation. No less.

In fact, PSSI only targets the U-23 Indonesian national team to qualify from the group stage, aka the quarter-finals.

On Friday, April 26, 2024, the South Korean coach witnessed how his team realized the dream.

They won a brilliant victory over South Korea U-23 in the quarter-final match at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on penalties with a score of 11-10 after playing a 2-2 draw until the extension round.

After the match, Shin Tae-yong revealed that the determination of the semifinal target before appearing in the tournament was not without reason.

He emphasized that the qualifying of the top four was an achievement that he had believed in because he had very much understood the capabilities of his troops.

The 53-year-old architect has held the Indonesian national team in various age groups since 2019. He is in control of the progress of Indonesian football, especially the national team.

No wonder, every time he was asked about the competition between the Indonesian national team at the Asian level to the world, he always said that Indonesian football had changed and developed significantly. No exception after overthrowing South Korea U-23.

"Indonesian football is on the rise, developing, and now I believe whoever the opponent is, we can compete," said Shin.

"Ernando Ari Sutaryadi, Rizky Ridho, Pratama Arhan, and many more. All of these players have been with me for four years."

"I know them very well and the only thing I need to give them is motivation. If I can do that, I'm sure we can get good results," he said again.

Knowing each other for so long, trust grew. Shin Tae-yong put high trust in his troops, and vice versa.

In the end, the positive energy that Shin Tae-yong flowed to all team players. The fruit of mutual trust made the target towards the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup final look realistic.

"I told my children to trust me and follow me and together we can reach the final."

"I think it was the confidence I gave to the players that have brought us so far," said Shin Tae-yong on the AFC website.

"I can't say that we can't win the championship. Obviously, we can reach the final. That gives us confidence," he said.

The 11-10 victory by penalty shootout, after ending 2-2 until the extension round, made Indonesia U-23 the 10th team in the history of the tournament which reached the semifinals.

This achievement was clearly a sweet journey for Shin Tae-yong who succeeded in proving himself to be able to achieve the target of PSSI.

He has also been projected to lead the national team of various age groups until 2027 thanks to his improvements in the progress of Indonesian football in recent years. Indonesia can talk a lot, especially on the Asian stage.

Now, the spotlight is diverted to the opportunity to reach the tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympics are a difficult stage for Red-White troops to penetrate.

The last time they performed at the Olympics was in the 1956 edition in Melbourne, Australia. At that time, the Garuda Squad successfully reached the quarter-finals before being defeated by the Soviet Union 0-4.

Now, after reaching the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, the chance to the 2024 Paris Olympics is wide open. At a minimum, Indonesia U-23 must win third place in the tournament in Qatar.

Even if they are only ranked fourth, they still have the opportunity to win tickets to Paris with a record of winning in the playoffs against CAF (African Football Confederation) representatives, Guinea, which is ranked fourth in the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

Shin Tae-yong did not hesitate to put high optimism again on the target he was carrying. "Our preparation for the Olympic qualification (Paris 2024) is going well," he said.

Not only about Indonesia U-23, Shin Tae-yong, who also initiated the senior level of the Indonesian national team, also spread threats.

He floated the target to qualify for the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

"The link with the 2026 World Cup Qualification, my target is that we play two good matches in June 2024 and qualify for the third round."

"Please be careful with us. We will try to do a good job," said the 53-year-old coach.

For information, the Indonesian national team still has two remaining matches in Group H of the second round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

The opportunity for the Garuda Squad to go to the following round is also open because it is currently in second place in the standings with seven points packed.

In the two final matches, they will face Iraq (June 6, 2024) and the Philippines (June 11, 2024) in Jakarta.

Again, Shin Tae-yong's confidence in the 2026 World Cup Qualification match was based on his trust in the abilities of his team.

The players he has been holding since coming to Indonesia in 2019, from age group to senior, have been mentally honed and capable.

He has even included a number of names of young players in the senior national team. Just look at almost half of the Indonesia U-23 squad that have played for the senior team in the 2023 Asian Cup and 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

Shin Tae-yong has given birth to a new golden generation, a talented young player with a world competition mentality. In just about five years.

Indonesian football lovers can now enjoy the results of Shin Tae-yong's hard work and struggle with his troops.

The Indonesian public is currently waiting for the next breakthrough from the new golden generation to talk a lot on the Asian and world stage, something that has long been lost from memory.