Rejecting Korean U23, coach Shin Tae-yong is ‘happy but miserable’

“I am very happy, but on the other hand I am also very miserable and difficult“, Coach Shin Tae-yong shared after the match with U23 Korea.

“The winning team must be decided and now I am in charge of the U23 Indonesia team. I have to try my best for U23 Indonesia. I thank everyone present and the Indonesian fans who stayed up all night to support me“.

In the early morning of April 26 (Vietnam time), U23 Indonesia unexpectedly defeated U23 Korea. They opened the scoring thanks to Rafael Struick. Then, Komang Taguh scored an own goal. The island team continued to lead thanks to Struick’s goal. The turning point of the match came in the 70th minute when Lee Young-jun received a red card. Before time ran out, Jeong Sang-bin equalized 2-2, sending the match into extra time.

U23 Indonesia played resiliently, preserving the score and the two teams had to decide the winner or loser on penalties. Mr. Shin Tae-yong’s team won 11-10, thereby reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 U23 Asian finals.

“There are players who have been by my side for the past 4 years. I understand and know them well. I believe that with encouragement, they can play well. Don’t say we can’t win, we can still make it to the finals. That gave us confidence and the team reached the semi-finals“, Mr. Shin further shared with the press.

With this victory, U23 Indonesia is closer to the opportunity to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics. The three teams with the best positions will win direct spots to the Olympics. The fourth-placed team will compete for a spot through a play-off match with U23 Guinea.

In the immediate future, U23 Indonesia will wait for their opponents in the semi-finals. They face the winner of U23 Uzbekistan and U23 Saudi Arabia. Coach Shin Tae-yong shared: “For now, let’s wait for the results. Tomorrow, the team needs to recover. During that time, I will watch their quarter-final match, find and plan. We played a friendly match with U23 Saudi Arabia before the tournament. But I don’t know about U23 Uzbekistan. I will plan later“.

Before closing the press conference, coach Shin Tae-yong emphasized: “Indonesian football is developing. I feel like I can play well with any team. Olympic qualifying is going better than expected. I want to go one step further in my goal“.