Indonesia Vs Thailand, Shin Tae-yong's Debut Leads Garuda In The Official FIFA Competition

Shin Tae-yong (Instagram @ shintaeyong7777)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian national team coach Shin Tae-Yong had to wait more than a year to make his debut in the official FIFA competition with the Garuda squad.

Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday at 23.45 WIB will witness this historic moment. The Indonesian national team will face Thailand in the continuation of Group G of the 2022 World Cup qualification in the Asian zone.

Shin Tae-Yong certainly didn't want his special moment to be tarnished by defeat. Moreover, he is the type of tactician who finds it difficult to accept negative results. The man from South Korea also wants his players to have a similar mentality.

"Players shouldn't get used to losing", said Shin once reported by Antara.

To realize the hope, Shin Tae-Yong forge his players with hard training. No one can be lazy. There is no place for lawbreakers.

Defender Nurhidayat Haji Haris is Shin's newest "victim". The 22-year-old footballer who had become a star in the U-19 national team was sent home from Dubai for being disciplinary. Shin didn't look at fame, all players were the same.

The physique and mentality of the national team players were forged simultaneously by Shin. Recently, the intensity of training has been increased because the majority of the national team personnel have just started fasting. Shin complained about their body fitness, which lacked nutrition.

The challenge is getting bigger due to the limitations of domestic football competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shin Tae-Yong actually realized that whatever the result of the match against Thailand would not affect his squad, which certainly did not qualify for the third round of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.

However, a match is still a match. Competition. If you are mentally and physically weak, you will be crushed. As a citizen of South Korea, Shin Tae-Yong is certainly very aware of this.

The history of South Korea cannot be separated from war and war. The country was once invaded by Japan, then starting in 1950 was involved in a battle with kinsmen in the north whose tensions have not decreased until now.

The discipline and unyielding spirit of the South Korean population have made the country now very advanced, out of poverty and destruction.

Shin Tae-Yong does not want the same thing to happen to the Indonesian national team. Garuda has been injured in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, always losing their previous five matches in Group G.

Not to mention the record against Thailand is not very good. In the last 10 years, Indonesia has only beaten Thailand once, namely in the first leg of the 2016 AFF Cup final with a score of 2-1.

Now is the time to get up and wash the wound. At the same time giving a beautiful gift on Shin Tae-Yong's official debut.