Shin promises a sharper Indonesia at Asian Cup

Head coach Shin Tae-yong believes there is room for improvement ahead of Indonesia kicking off their AFC Asian Cup challenge on Monday. The southeast Asian side lost 5-0 to Iran in their final friendly at the Al Rayyan Training Site in Doha on Tuesday with Shin expecting a more resolute performance against Iraq in their Group D match against Iraq on Monday.
“There were several mistakes from our defence (against Iran), with three goals resulting from our errors,” said Shin. “In the Asian Cup, the opponents will likely dominate possession more. Therefore, we will train for that situation so that players can find opportunities to counter-attack and create good chances.”
Shin also shed light on the condition of defender Asnawi Mangkualam, who is recovering from a muscle injury. “Asnawi had muscle issues and is still in rehabilitation. He only played for 20-30 minutes. That’s why Asnawi couldn’t play as the captain at the beginning of the match, with vice-captain Jordi Amat taking on the role.”
Prior to their closed-door friendly against Iran, Indonesia faced Libya twice, losing 4-0 and 2-1. Making a return to the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 2007, Indonesia will also face Southeast Asian rivals Vietnam on January 19 and four-time winners Japan five days later in Group D.
Meanwhile, Dutch-born Shayne Pattynama remains in the Netherlands due to his mother’s health condition. “This is a very sensitive situation for him, so I can’t comment much,” Shin said.
Elkan Baggott, who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Ipswich Town, said that the team gained valuable lessons from Iran. “The match result might not reflect how the game went. However, these are 90 minutes of learning for many players. So we know we have to be ready and fit for the first match,” he said.
Indonesia will be making a long overdue return to the Asian Cup when they compete in Qatar Their target will be to advance to the knockout stage and as the Southeast Asian side prepare for their Group D challenge . This will be Indonesia’s fifth AFC Asian Cup. Their previous appearance was in 2007, when they were co-hosts with Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.