Indonesia - Uzbekistan: Waiting for historic Olympic tickets

Indonesia is determined to become the first Southeast Asian team to qualify for the Olympics in the modern football era.

* Indonesia - Uzbekistan: 9:00 p.m. Monday, April 29, on VnExpress.

The victory over South Korea in the quarterfinals was not only the biggest shock for the 2024 AFC U23 Championship, but also gave Indonesia great confidence to aim higher. The team from the archipelago continues to aim for the dual goal of reaching the final and officially winning a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) President Erick Thohir said he "cannot stop dreaming about the Olympics". Coach Shin Tae-yong expressed his great determination not to disappoint Indonesian fans. The Korean coach also admitted that he mistakenly thought Indonesia had never participated in the Olympics until he learned about Melbourne 1956 - the only Olympics for Indonesian football.

Indonesian players celebrate victory over South Korea in the quarter-finals of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship. Photo: AFC

Apart from Indonesia, Southeast Asia has Thailand, which participated in the 1956 and 1968 Olympics, Malaysia and Myanmar also participated in the 1972 Olympics. In the past 52 years, regional football has never been so close to an Olympic ticket as it is now. Even if Indonesia loses in the semi-finals, it still has two chances: winning the third-place match or playing a play-off with African representative Guinea.

The current success of Indonesian football comes from giving coach Shin Tae-yong full authority to lead a talented young squad. After four years of many failures, Indonesia has reaped sweet fruit since the beginning of 2024. In the most recent match against South Korea, Indonesia's starting lineup had nine names that regularly play for the national team. On a macro level, billionaire Erick Thohir's position as PSSI Chairman is a great support for the national teams, especially in the process of naturalizing players of mixed blood.

Indonesia are working wonders in Qatar, but the challenge ahead continues to be difficult. Uzbekistan are heavy favourites and have just defeated defending champions Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals. Coach Shin watched the match live, praised his opponents for their good organisation and discipline and understands why Uzbekistan have won all the matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding none so far. "The ability to quickly switch between attack and defence makes them the strongest team in the U23 Asia," said Shin.

In theory, Indonesia have the advantage because they have one more day off than Uzbekistan, but coach Shin denies this. He said the team had just fought hard against South Korea in the quarter-finals after more than 120 minutes and 12 penalty shootouts. "We cannot underestimate Uzbekistan's physical strength," coach Shin said. "At this stage, the mental aspect plays a very important role."

Indonesia has the largest number of fans coming to the stadium to cheer for the 2024 AFC U23 Championship. Photo: AFC

Meanwhile, Timur Kapadze and his team have maintained their stability and reserve of words since the beginning of the tournament. The presence of two players playing in Europe, midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullaev and center-back Abdukodir Khusanov, has further improved the team. They have used their strength and technique to break down Saudi Arabia's short passing style, and will continue to play with such high intensity against Indonesia.

Coach Kapadze also affirmed that he is not worried about Indonesian fans planning to turn Abdullah Bin Khalifa into their home stadium. He confidently said that Uzbekistan has plenty of experience playing in stadiums full of spectators, both domestic and international. The result will be decided by the performance of the players on the field.

The Indonesia-Uzbekistan match will take place at 5:00 p.m. local time, or 9:00 p.m. Hanoi time. Three and a half hours later, the remaining semi-final will be between Japan and Iraq.

Vnexpress.net

Source: https://vnexpress.net/indonesia-uzbekistan-cho-ve-olympic-lich-su-4740210.html