Indonesia must beat Vietnam: football coach

To advance to the round of 16 at the major regional tournament, Shin said that Indonesia must, and will, defeat Vietnam, to allow for a draw against stronger Iraq, even a loss against Japan’s juggernaut squad.

Indonesia will face Iraq on Jan. 15, Vietnam on Jan. 19 and Japan on the 24th.

Coach Shin said his goal is to get Indonesia past the group stage, and he has a detailed plan to do so.

“Advancing as one of the best third-placed teams in the group stage is most reasonable for us. I can see one win, one draw and one loss in the group stage for Indonesia. We definitely have to defeat Vietnam and get at least a draw against Iraq,” coach Shin told SportsSeoul.

Shin previously made a great impression when he led South Korea to defeat defending champion Germany in the 2018 World Cup group stage.

However, since becoming Indonesia head coach in 2020, he has not won any titles, despite coaching the U20, U23 and national teams.

He has since only received disappointing results against Vietnam as well – he has not won any game against them across several tournaments, including the SEA Games, AFF Cup and World Cup qualifiers.

Indonesia are not on a good track for their 2024 Asian Cup preparation.

Before getting thrashed 0-5 by Iran, they lost 0-4 and 1-2 to Libya.

However, coach Shin is still confident.

“Honestly, in this group, Japan are on a different level. It will not be easy for Indonesia to face Japan, but we will definitely cause our opponents some problems. Indonesia can create a surprise if we don’t make any mistakes.”

Similar to Indonesia, Vietnam are in difficulties as the team has recently lost many key players due to injuries, including goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, defenders Que Ngoc Hai, Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Thanh Chung and Doan Van Hau, midfielder Hoang Van Toan and striker Nguyen Tien Linh.

The team are also in a transition period as they are adapting to the football philosophy of their new French coach Philippe Troussier.

That is part of the reason former Indonesian player Menurut Nuralim said he believes that the two Southeast Asian teams are balanced in terms of power, which he added will make for a real clash on Jan. 19.

Nuralim, who played for Indonesia from 1996 to 2003, said: “In this group, Japan’s level is superior and their quality is completely different. The level between Vietnam, Iraq and Indonesia is not far apart. I hope Indonesia will overcome this challenge.”