The Indonesian National Team Join Vietnam In The Semifinals, This Is A Response To Dendy Sulistyawan

Indonesian national team player, Dendy Sulistyawan. (Photo: Twitter/@PSSI)

JAKARTA The Indonesian national team qualified for the 2022 AFF Cup semifinals after defeating the Philippines at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Monday, January 2 evening WIB. Unfortunately, the victory made the Garuda Squad fail to win Group A.

This result makes Shin Tae Yong's troops have to be group runners up after Thailand won 3-1 against Cambodia at the same time.

The War Elephant and Indonesia actually both collected 10 points from four matches. However, Alexandrre 'Mano' Polking's troops were ahead on goal difference.

In the semifinals later, Garuda will meet Group B winners Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia are potential opponents for Marselino and his friends.

Malaysia and Singapore will face each other in the last match today, Tuesday, January 3. Meanwhile, Vietnam, which is currently in the top position, will face Myanmar, which has been eliminated.

The Indonesian national team striker, Dendy Sulistyawan, emphasized that they were not afraid to fight against the winner of Group B. Garuda's squad is in combat prepared mode for whoever the opponent is.

"We don't care who fights whom. The important thing is we focus on ourselves," said Dendy, who scored one goal against the Philippines.

The Indonesian national team does need to focus on itself. The reason is, there are still many things that need to be evaluated, one of which is the final solution.

Dendy also admitted that the quality of the final finish of his squad was bad during the matches in the Group A phase of the 2022 AFF Cup.

"We have to focus (evaluation-ed) on the final settlement," he said, as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, January 3.

The 26-year-old footballer ensured that the "Garuda" squad as much as possible continued to hone their ability to complete opportunities in front of goal. Dendy did not want Indonesia's front line to be blunt when competing in the 2022 AFF Cup semifinals, whose first leg took place on January 6, 2023 at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta.

"We continue to fix what is lacking in the team," said the Bhayangkara FC club player.