Shin Tae-yong on Japan: "We were the underdogs, but the game was different...I saw hope"

Head coach Shin Tae-yong was pleased with Indonesia's performance at the Asian Cup.

Indonesia fell 1-3 to Japan in their third match of Group D at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2023 at the Altumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar at 12:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Ayase Ueda scored a brace and Justin Hubner scored an own goal. Sandy Walsh pulled one back in stoppage time.

After the final match of the group stage, Shin took part in the post-match press conference and said, "Congratulations to Japan. They're a good team," he said, congratulating Japan for finishing second in the group and advancing to the Round of 16.

"They have good players up front and a good offensive balance. When they lose the ball up front, they counterattack and press well. It was difficult for us to break them down, so our offensive line didn't stand out. Our young players are still inexperienced, so it was difficult for us to get out when we won the ball. We lacked the ability to build from the front, which is something we need to work on."

Indonesia's place in the round of 16 is still up in the air. After finishing third in the group, Indonesia's hopes of reaching the round of 16 remain alive, but they will have to wait to see the outcome of the final Group F match between Oman and Kyrgyzstan. "It's just the will of the heavens," said Shin, who will take a day off and see what happens.

Indonesia's FIFA ranking is 146th, the second lowest of the tournament's qualifiers behind Hong Kong (150th). Regardless of whether they advance to the 사설토토 round of 16 or not, Shin praised the team's performance in the three group games. It would have been a good experience.

"It was a good experience for me as a coach to lead a team with the weakest FIFA ranking to a big tournament. It was a good experience for me as a coach. Indonesian soccer is considered the weakest among the participating countries, but if you look at the pure content of the game, it has improved considerably. I saw hope when I brought the youngest players out and played against the best teams. It will be a big help for the players."