Praise Of The Philippines Coach For The Indonesian National Team

The Philippines coach, Tom Saintfiet (Instagram/@pmnft_official).

JAKARTA - The Philippines coach, Tom Saintfiet, praised the Indonesian national team after his team was beaten 0-2 at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta. According to him, the Indonesian national team has proven strength and presented an extraordinary atmosphere during the match.

In the last match of the second round of the 2026 Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, the Garuda Squad won thanks to goals from Tom Haye (32') and Rizky Ridho (56'). The result was also a sweet offering for 64 thousand supporters who attended packed SUGBK.

Not only able to add three points, this result made Indonesia finish in the position of runners-up in Group F and advance to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification as well as qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

After the match, Tom Saintfiet did not hesitate to congratulate the success of the Indonesian national team. The coach of The Azkals also did not escape highlighting the overflowing and lively atmosphere of SUGBK by the roar of Garuda supporters.

"I would like to congratulate Indonesia, PSSI, and the Indonesian people because they have won and passed the 2027 Asian Cup and to the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification," Saintfiet said in a press conference after the match.

"The atmosphere is also extraordinary in this stadium. During my 27 years of coaching, I have never felt an atmosphere like this. Thank you for the atmosphere they have presented, the banner, and the flag in the stadium," said Saintfiet.

Despite praise for Shin Tae-yong's team, Saintfiet also admitted that he had difficulty stemming the attack of the Indonesian national team, especially from the wing and center.

"However, I am the Philippines coach, I am proud of my team. At the beginning of the match, Indonesia did control the match and did not give us the opportunity to develop the game."

"There are some of our small mistakes that the Indonesian national team can take advantage of. There are several rooms on the wings they use, also in the middle, and we failed to hold them 0-0 in the first half," said Saintfiet.

"In the second half, we started controlling the game in some parts, doing some combinations, and our pass circulation improved."

"However, there was indeed a free kick situation that led to Rizky Ridho's goal. We failed to suppress Indonesia. We failed to hold them 1-0 to 70 minutes," he said again.