No Surrender In Shin Tae-Yong's Dictionary Although Indonesian National Team Lost To Iraq In The First Match Of 2023 U-20 Asian Cup

The coach of the Indonesian national team, Shin Tae-yong. (Photo: Twitter @pssi)

JAKARTA - The U-20 Indonesian National Team lost their first match in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup preliminary rounds. The Garuda Nusantara squad surrendered with a score of 0-2, Wednesday, March 1.

This defeat will not make Shin Tae-yong's team despair. At least that's what the coach emphasized.

"In a tournament like this, the first match is very important, of course, the following matches will be very difficult," said Shin in a post-match press conference, as reported by Antara.

"But we will not give up. We came here to win the match, not just to participate," he continued.

The Red and White teams only have three days to prepare for the next match. The U-20 Indonesian national team will face Syria on Saturday, March 4.

Garuda Nusantara will complete the group phase by meeting Uzbekistan at the Istiqlol Stadium, Fergana, on Tuesday, 7 March.

"Of course, it will be very difficult for the second game. But I have to bring a good atmosphere to the team. I will not bring a bad atmosphere to the team," he said.

Coach Shin also doesn't want to blame the cold temperature of the match as the cause of his team's defeat.

"And as for the cold weather problem, it's different from the weather in Indonesia. If you say we lost because the weather was cold, that would just be an excuse. In my opinion, the problem is a lack of concentration," added the man from South Korea.

The U-20 Indonesian national team is currently in the last position in Group A with zero points, the same as the Syrian team who also lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan in their first match. The top two positions are occupied by Iraq and host Uzbekistan.