Coach Shin wants to take Indonesia past Asian Cup group stage

“The goal is to make it past the group stage,” Shin told Indonesian media on Tuesday. “The opponents are really strong, so we have to prepare better.”

In the past, Indonesia participated in four Asian Cup editions, but were eliminated from the group stage in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2007.

In this tournament, Indonesia are 146th on the FIFA ranking, the lowest in group D, after Vietnam (94th), Iraq (63rd) and Japan (17th).

Indonesia will play their opening match of the 2024 Asian Cup against Iraq on Jan. 15, then against Vietnam on Jan. 19 and Japan on the 24th.

Japan are considered superior in the group, while Iraq have just defeated Indonesia 5-1 in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup the second qualifying.

For Vietnam, they have not lost a match against Indonesia since 2016.

If the goal of passing the group stage is not achieved, the 2024 Asian Cup could be the last tournament of coach Shin with Indonesia.

To prepare for the tournament, the Indonesian team called up 29 players on Wednesday and began a two-week training trip in Turkey.

They will play two friendly matches, both against Libya, on Jan. 2 and 5, 2024. After that, coach Shin will shorten the list to 26 players for the Asian Cup in Qatar, where the team will play another friendly match on Jan. 9, against Iran, a team similar to their opponents in the opening match, Iraq.

Indonesia players at the airport before flying to Turkey for a training trip on Dec. 20, 2023. Photo by PSSI

Indonesia squad have seven naturalized players, notably defender Justin Hubner of Wolves in the English Premier League, Jordi Amat of Malaysian club Johor Darul Tazim who has played for many years in La Liga and the Premier League.

Other names are defenders Sandy Walsh (Mechelen, Belgium), Shayne Pattynama (Viking, Norway), midfielders Marc Klok (Persib Bandung, Indonesia), Ivar Jenner (Young Utrecht, Netherlands) and striker Rafael Struick (ADO Den Haag, Netherlands).

The rest are players familiar with Vietnamese football, such as right-back Asnawi Mangkualam, left-back known for strong throw-ins Pratama Arhan, and midfielders Witan Sulaeman and Saddil Ramdani.

According to midfielder Marc Klok, the atmosphere among Indonesian players is very good and the team have great expectations for the Asian Cup.

The Dutch-born player said he had temporarily stopped using social media to focus on the tournament in Qatar. He pointed out that the key to Indonesia’s success is improving their football mindset and physical fitness because they will have to run a lot.

“We also have to carefully study each opponent,” Klok told Bola Sport on Wednesday. “Japan are different from Vietnam and Vietnam are different from Iraq, so we have to adapt to all opponents.”