AFF Cup 2024: Laos team praised, Shin Tae-yong and his team suspected

Media and experts in Southeast Asia unanimously expressed surprise at the result of the 3-3 draw between Laos and Indonesia in Group B of the AFF Cup 2024 on December 12.

According to statistics from Sofascore, in more than 90 minutes, the Indonesian team held the ball for more than 60% of the time, and had 24 shots (twice as many as the Lao team). However, coach Shin Tae-yong's students could only end the match at Manahan Stadium with 1 point. More notably, in the first half, Indonesia also let Laos take the lead twice. Bola Times commented: "When facing Laos, the Indonesian team seemed to be facing themselves. The tactics that Laos implemented were very similar to the approach that Indonesia often uses when facing strong Asian teams. Deadly counterattacks were the key to the surprise that happened at Manahan. Every time Laos shot on target, the result was always a goal. It is not too much to say that Laos taught Indonesia a lesson in efficiency."

Meanwhile, Suara 's Kurniawan Kristi emphasized: "The attack's finishing is too poor - that's the phrase that can describe Indonesia after 2 group stage matches. Coach Shin Tae-yong's team plays hastily, which is one of the main reasons for this problem. The players often focus on moving towards the opponent's 1/3 of the field but are easily stopped when entering the penalty area... With such a style of play, it's difficult for Indonesia to create miracles."

Coach Shin Tae-yong's (left) Indonesian team suffered a lot from the draw with Laos.

PHOTO: AFP

And international sports site ESPN wrote: "4 points after 2 matches is not a bad result in theory, but this year may not be the opportunity for Indonesia to break the 28-year curse of not being able to be crowned king of Southeast Asia."

Although the draw was still enough to help the Indonesian team top Group B, the "damage" they suffered from this match was not small. First, the team from the archipelago will not have key player Marselino Ferdinan for the match against the Vietnamese team on December 15 at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho. Marselino is an important factor in Indonesia's playing style. He is a rare "pure" Indonesian player to win a starting position among the naturalized stars. His outstanding speed and football thinking helped Marselino to be highly valued.

Indonesian team arrives in Vietnam on December 13

In addition, the draw at Manahan Stadium also caused Indonesia to lose a lot of points in the FIFA rankings. Previously, in the opening match, coach Shin Tae-yong's team won against Myanmar (ranked 167) and was awarded 1.8 points, but minus the points from the terrible draw against Laos, the Indonesian team only received a mere 0.69 points. Thereby, they could not increase 1 place to 124th in the world as estimated but had to return to their old position (125), according to football-ranking.com .

On the other hand, the Laos team received a lot of praise for the draw with Indonesia. "Laos entered the game as a small team... They are always dangerous on the counter-attack, thanks to the excellent performance of captain Bounphachan Bounkong. Laos did not deserve to lose, and a point is reasonable for what they showed," ESPN commented.

In the next match, Laos will host the Philippines at 5:30 p.m. on December 15.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/aff-cup-2024-doi-tuyen-lao-duoc-khen-thay-tro-ong-shin-tae-yong-bi-nghi-ngo-185241213205723948.htm