Facing Bahrain, Shin Tae-yong Emphasized That The Indonesian National Team Did Not Focus On The Revenge Mission

Shin Tae-yong does not want the Indonesian national team to focus on revenge against Bahrain (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, will lead the team against Bahrain in the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

There was a high tension in the match if you looked at the meeting records of the two teams. However, the coach emphasized that there was no focus on revenge in the match later.

Bahrain had indeed humiliated the Indonesian national team in the 2014 World Cup Qualification. In the match which took place at the Bahrain National Stadium at that time, the Red-White Team was massacred 0-10 by the host.

Now that the two teams have met again, Shin Tae-yong feels that revenge from the incident is not his focus. The South Korean coach admitted that he only wanted to focus on preparing tactics for the match which took place on Thursday, October 10, 2024.

"Instead of thinking about revenge for the defeat, we better focus on the game. How can we show the game we like and plan," said Shin Tae-yong, quoted from PSSI's official website, Wednesday, October 9, 2024.

So far, the Indonesian national team has been in Bahrain and continues to make preparations. Shin Tae-yong revealed that the tactical preparations were carried out by the Indonesian national team three days before the match.

This situation is much different from Bahrain, which has held a training camp since October 1, 2024. The team initiated by Dragan Talajic held a TC earlier to finalize preparations for the Garuda Squad.

Despite the lack of ideal preparation, the Indonesian national team came with high confidence. You see, the Garuda Squad has a slick capital from the results of the series against Saudi Arabia and Australia in the first two matches of Group C of the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.

The strength of the Indonesian national team has also increased in this match. The Red-White Team will be strengthened by two new naturalized players, Mees Hilgers and Eliano Reijnders, who play at the Eredivisie.