Indonesia is enthusiastic about Shin Tae-yong Magic.
Indonesia, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, has confirmed its advance to the round of 16 teams at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation Qatar Asian Cup on Wednesday (Korea time). The team will advance to the round of 16 teams at the Asian Cup, the first in the Indonesian soccer history.
Indonesia ranked third in Group D with one win and two losses and three points (loss -2) in three group matches. Despite this, Indonesia recorded the fourth-highest performance among the six teams ranking third in each group, making it to the last round of 16. Indonesia beat China, ranking third in Group A, and Oman, ranking third in Group F, to secure the “wild card.”
Indeed, heaven has helped. Indonesia was on the verge of elimination on Wednesday, losing 1-3 to Japan in its third group match. One of the teams ranking third in Group E or third in Group F had to pray for a slip.
A foreign journalist called Indonesia’s chances of advancing to the round of 16 as a “miracle” during the press conference. “This is not something I can say. I think it’s the will of the sky,” coach Shin Tae-yong also said.
The sky has ruled in favor of coach Shin Tae-yong. Indonesia dramatically succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 thanks to Oman’s tie with Kyrgyzstan in the third Group F match of the tournament held at midnight on Wednesday.
If Oman had defeated Kyrgyzstan, it could have advanced to the round of 16 by beating Indonesia with four points. However, even after scoring the first goal in the eighth minute of the first half, Oman allowed an equalizer in the 35th minute of the second half to draw 0-0. In the end, Oman ended the group stage with two points after being held back by Kyrgyzstan, and was eliminated in the group stage, falling behind Indonesia.
As a result, Indonesia will not pack up while boarding the last train to the round of 16. Indonesia will face Australia in the round of 16. The two teams will play a match at 8:30 p.m. on the 28th at Jasim bin Hamad Stadium.
Indonesia was in a state of great excitement after its dramatic advance to the round of 16.
Indonesia’s “Compas” reported, “The Indonesian national team is ranked 146th in the FIFA rankings, one of the lowest among the teams participating in the Asian Cup. Only Hong Kong (150th) is lower than Indonesia,” adding, “Coach Shin Tae-yong emphasized that his performance at the Asian Cup after the round of 16 was above the ranking.” 마카오토토
The media said, “Coach Shin Tae-yong led one of the weakest teams among the 24 teams in this tournament. He smiled, saying, ‘The FIFA ranking has not shown our performance properly,'” adding, “On top of that, coach Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia is one of the youngest teams in the Asian Cup.”
“Coach Shin Tae-yong expressed his confidence in the young national team. He said that such a young national team’s performance at the Asian Cup will be of great help to Indonesian soccer in the future,” he said, adding, “In fact, Indonesia did well against Iraq and Japan.”