Qatar coach Shin Tae-young admits the pressure Indonesia is under, but is confident that he will defeat Vietnam in the second round of Group D tomorrow to keep his team's hopes of advancing to the 2023 Asian Cup alive.
"Vietnam and Indonesia know each other very well, through many recent consecutive confrontations, not only in regional tournaments, but also in the World Cup qualifiers. But this is a very important match that we have no other choice but to win to keep our chances of advancing, after losing the opening match," Mr. Shin said at a press conference before the match.
Indonesia lost 1-3 to Iraq in the opening match of the 2023 Asian Cup. If they still do not win in the second match, when they meet Vietnam tomorrow, the chance of advancing for coach Shin Tae-yong and his team will be very slim. In the final round, they will have to play Japan - the number one team in Asia and is assessed by the Korean coach as "having superior skills in Group D".
If he fails to advance past the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup, coach Shin will most likely have to leave Indonesian football. However, in tomorrow's important match, Vietnam is the opponent that the Korean coach will have to endure the most sadness, as he has not known victory since taking charge of Indonesia in 2020.
During more than three years of Mr. Shin working with Indonesia, the country's football team also beat Vietnam once, with a result of 3-2 in the men's football semi-finals of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia in the summer of 2023. But at that time, the leader of the Indonesian U23 team was domestic coach Indra Syafri, while Mr. Shin was busy leading the U20 team.
Coach Shin believes that the victory will not have much impact on the match between the two national teams at Duhail Stadium, Doha tomorrow. "The results at the SEA Games are in the past, the strength of the two teams at the Asian Cup is now different from before. However, the Indonesian players are now more advanced, more complete, I believe they will play well, helping the team achieve the goal against Vietnam tomorrow," he said.
The Indonesian coach also expressed his disinterest in Vietnam changing its playing style, from defensive counter-attacking under coach Park Hang-seo to proactive control as coach Philippe Troussier is pursuing.
"I will not change the way I prepare to adapt to the opponent's changes," Shin added. "I just focus on helping my players improve, hoping they understand and follow my instructions. I always tell them that Indonesia should not play football in the old way, just running and shooting."
Before going to Qatar for this finals, Indonesia had been absent from the last three Asian Cups. They failed to qualify for the 2011 and 2015 tournaments and were banned from the 2019 tournament for violating FIFA regulations. However, coach Shin does not consider the new experience in the continent's biggest tournament a psychological disadvantage for the current generation of Indonesian players.
"It's true that Indonesia hasn't participated in the Asian Cup finals for a long time, since co-hosting them at home in 2007. But like Vietnam or Malaysia, we are making progress. My players consider participating in the Asian Cup for the first time a great honor, creating more motivation for us to try to play well, beat Vietnam tomorrow, and bring joy to the fans."
Lam Thoa
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