Head coach Shin Tae Yong Shin has spoken about his soccer life to inspire Indonesia’s bid to qualify for the Olympics.
Indonesia will face Qatar at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday at 12:30 a.m. ET for the third- through fourth-place matches.
The tournament’s first through third-place finishers will earn a direct ticket to the Olympic Games, with the fourth-place finisher facing African qualifier No. 4 Guinea in an intercontinental playoff to determine the one remaining ticket. Indonesia have qualified for the Olympics under Shin Tae-yong since the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Indonesia has been a breakout team under Shin Tae-yong. They headed into the tournament in second place in Group A with two wins and one loss against Qatar, Australia, and Jordan. Their quarterfinal opponent was Hwang Sun-hong’s nine-time Olympic champions, but as fate would have it, Shin had to face his country.
The underdogs were expected to lose, but they turned the tables and put on a dominant performance to secure a spot in the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout, securing their first Olympic appearance in 68 years.
With one win left to qualify, they held their own in the quarterfinals before conceding a pair of second-half goals to fall 0-2 to Uzbekistan.
They still have a chance. If they can beat Iraq, who lost to Japan and were relegated to a 3-4 tie for third place, they can punch their ticket to the last spot. For that to happen, they will need to recover from the physical strain of the quarterfinals and the mental strain of the quarterfinal loss.
Looking ahead to the match against Iraq, Shin Tae-yong said, “Looking back at the match against Uzbekistan, I am very disappointed. The players did their best, but it was hard to accept that the referee’s whistle changed our fate. In order for the AFC to develop better, every team must respect every player to 토토 the best of its ability and make the best game possible.” “The Uzbek game in the quarterfinals is the most regrettable moment in my 40 years of football,” he said.
Regarding the Iraq match, he added: “It’s a third-place match. Both teams will do their best to win the third place. I hope we can make it a good match with both teams giving their best.”
When asked earlier if the statement “one whistle changed the game” was a dig at the AFC, he replied, “That’s not my intention at all. I’m just giving my valuable opinion. I think for Asian soccer to develop in the future, we need to respect each other. The players respect the referee, the referee respects the players who give everything on the field, and the managers and coaching staff in the stadium.”
For Shin, it will be a matter of recovery. “The players are generally suffering (from the tournament). Fortunately, they are resting well,” he said, adding, “The same goes for Iraq, but it will be important to see how well they rest.”
Indonesia will have frontline striker Rafael Strawik back after completing his suspension. The Dutchman is one of the team’s leading strikers and was suspended for the quarterfinals against South Korea and missed the quarterfinals against Uzbekistan. Moreover, the unexpected rest against Uzbekistan will put him in the best shape of the team. “I think he’ll be less tired,” said Shin Tae-yong. He is an important player and we expect him to play well,” said Shin.