The U-23 National Team Is Asked To Be Confidence In Leg 2 Against Australia, Shin Tae-yong: Players Must Believe In Themselves

Shin Tae-yong (Foto: Antara)

JAKARTA - The coach of the Indonesian U-23 national team, Shin Tae-yong, asked his squad to be more confident in the second leg of Group G Qualifying for the 2022 U-23 Asian Cup against Australia, Friday, the day after tomorrow.

"It should have been possible because we were able to score two goals in the first meeting. Players must believe in themselves and the team," Shin said, quoted by Antara from Indonesian Football Association's (PSSI) statement, Wednesday.

The South Korean tactician doesn't want the mentality of his team to be like when they were beaten 2-3 by Australia on Tuesday.

At that time, Shin judged that Amiruddin Bagus and his friends had been afraid since the beginning of the match because they were facing an opponent with a strong physique.

"That makes them unable to put out their maximum performance," said the South Korean national team coach at the 2018 World Cup.

The Indonesian U-23 national team, which is the host, lost 2-3 to Australia in the Group G match of the 2022 U-23 Asian Cup Qualification at the Republican Central Stadium, Tajikistan.

Two Indonesian goals were scored by Witan Sulaeman (67') and Taufik Hidayat (84'). Meanwhile, Australia's goals were scored by Marc Tokich (53'), Patrick Wood (59'), and Jacob Italiano (77').

The attitude of the Indonesian players who never gave up until the end made Shin give praise.

"I'm not happy that we lost, but I want to commend the players who didn't give up until the end," said Shin.

The Indonesian U-23 national team still has the chance to qualify for the 2022 U-23 Asian Cup. The condition is that the Garuda Muda squad must win at least with a two-goal advantage.

If Indonesia wins by one goal, the match will go straight to the penalty shootout without extra time.