Indonesia’s U-23 national soccer team head coach Shin Tae Yong Shin has expressed his confidence in the team’s quarterfinal clash with Uzbekistan.
The national team will take on Uzbekistan at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 quarterfinals at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Monday at 11:00 p.m. ET.
The tournament is a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July, with the first through third-place finishers advancing directly to the main event, while the fourth-place team will face fourth-place African qualifier Guinea in an intercontinental playoff 온라인카지노 for one of the remaining tickets.
Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia were not initially considered a favorite to qualify, but they came out of the group stage with a bang, defeating Hwang Sun-hong’s South Korea in the quarterfinals to advance to Paris.
They are now just one win away from qualifying. A win in this game or the third- or fourth-place match will send them directly to the main event. Indonesia hasn’t been involved in the Olympics since the 1956 Melbourne Games, but after 68 years of steep growth under Shin Tae-yong, they have a chance. Shin can once again etch his name into the history of Indonesian soccer.
“We finished well in the qualifiers with two wins and one loss to advance to the tournament,” said head coach Shin Tae-yong. “In my opinion, Group A (Indonesia, Qatar, Australia, Jordan) was the deadliest group,” he said, “but the team gained confidence and brought good results. We had some difficult and tough situations in the quarterfinals, such as conceding an equalizer against Korea, but we were able to win in penalty kicks to keep the momentum going,” he said, reflecting on the tournament so far.
Their opponents, Uzbekistan, have been in the best form of the tournament. With 12 goals scored and no goals conceded in four matches up to the quarterfinals, the A team’s January 2023 Asian Cup breakthrough continues at the age group level.
Head coach Shin Tae-yong was also wary. “I took a break and watched the quarterfinal between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, and I realized why they are a good team. They are a flawless team. It’s not going to be easy in the quarterfinals, but I want to have a great game with my players,” he said, adding, “I thought it would be an advantage to have an extra day of rest, but I think we lost an extra day because we had to play Korea in overtime and penalty kicks, but I think we will have an advantage over Uzbekistan because we had an extra day of rest.”
On Uzbekistan’s preparation and game plan, he said, “They are a very good team in transition. I think they have the best offense of any team in this tournament. I think we have to overcome that. They have a lot of strong players. I can’t go into details, but if the players are mentally prepared, I think there will be no problem,” he said encouragingly.
Shin also expressed his desire to qualify for the Olympics: “I thought Indonesia had never played Olympic soccer before, but we did in Melbourne 1956. I think it’s time to challenge history. I will not feel any pressure, but I will enjoy it with the players and challenge them to qualify for the Paris Olympics.”