The Indonesian team brings a very young force to the AFF Cup 2024. The official list of 26 players of the archipelago team has up to 24 faces of the U.21 age group, with many names that have never played for the national team. The reason why Mr. Shin Tae-yong called up many young faces is because the Indonesian team has difficulty in calling up players, because the AFF Cup is not part of the official competition system of FIFA, so the host clubs have the right not to release players. In addition, this is also a step to prepare for the future of Indonesian football, aiming to build a force for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand and the 2026 U.23 Asian arena.
Evaluating the strength of Vietnam's opponents at AFF Cup 2024
Coach Shin Tae-yong has named three naturalized players in the Indonesian national team for the 2024 AFF Cup, namely Rafael Struick, Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner. Notably, only Rafael Struick has returned to the national team in time to prepare for the opening match of Group B - AFF Cup 2024 against Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has yet to convince their home clubs to allow Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner to return to the national team.
Asnawi Mangkualam scored the only goal of the match for Indonesia
Football fans in the archipelago initially have reason to be skeptical about the Korean coach's personnel selection decision, as there is still no sign that Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner will appear at the AFF Cup 2024. The starting lineup of the Indonesian team in the opening match against Myanmar did not include any naturalized players. Rafael Struick has just left his home club to join the Indonesian team, so he is not physically fit enough to play from the start. In addition, the most experienced player in Mr. Shin's hands at the moment, Asnawi Mangkualam, is also absent from the main lineup, for the same reason as Rafael Struick.
Before the match, the Indonesian team was rated much higher than the host team Myanmar. However, the fact that Indonesia did not have the strongest force made the earliest match of Group B very exciting. In fact, the team led by Mr. Shin Tae-yong was even at a disadvantage compared to Myanmar. In more than 45 minutes of the first half, the Indonesian team could only do better than their opponent in terms of ball possession. On the other hand, although the Myanmar team did not dominate the game, they had 9 shots (compared to 6 of Indonesia) and 3 shots on target (compared to 0 of Indonesia). Myanmar would have been very close to opening the score, if Zaw Win Thein's tricky shot had not hit the crossbar in the 38th minute.
It can be seen that the absence of experienced players in the squad prevented Indonesia from playing coherently. The team from the archipelago lacked a player who could maintain the rhythm and "deal the cards" well in the midfield. Meanwhile, the host Myanmar, with their physical strength still in full swing in the first half, played with high intensity, causing many difficulties for Mr. Shin Tae-yong's team.
Indonesia's attack improved when standout players such as Asnawi Mangkualam and Rafael Struick were introduced at the start of the second half. However, Indonesia could only score the only goal thanks to their "specialty" of throwing in the ball. Pratama Arhan's powerful throw-in was effective, creating an opportunity for Asnawi Mangkualam to take the decisive shot to score the only goal of the match.
The Indonesian team got what they needed, which was 3 full points in the opening match of the AFF Cup 2024. However, what happened shows that Mr. Shin Tae-yong's team is expected to face many difficulties in the near future.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thang-myanmar-nhung-indonesia-khong-manh-185241209231859956.htm
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