Indonesian newspaper expects home team to make history against Australia

Asian Cup 2023 Round of 16 Match Schedule

18:30 January 28: Australia vs Indonesia

23:00 January 28: Tajikistan vs UAE

18:30 January 29: Iraq vs Jordan

23:00 January 29: Qatar vs Palestine

18:30 January 30: Uzbekistan vs Thailand

23:00 January 30: Saudi Arabia vs South Korea.

18:30 January 31: Bahrain vs Japan

23:00 January 31: Iran vs Syria

The Indonesian team will meet Australia in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium tonight (6:30 p.m. on January 28). Talking about this, CNN Indonesia wrote: "Facing a team of a higher level, coach Shin Tae Yong and his team have two choices: surrender to reality or be ready to turn history to a new page."

Indonesia advanced to the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams. Shin Tae Yong's side narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout stages thanks to Kyrgyzstan's draw with Oman in their final Group F match.

Báo Indonesia kỳ vọng đội nhà làm nên lịch sử trước Australia - 1 — Indonesian players celebrate after scoring the only goal against Vietnam on a penalty kick (Photo: Bola).

According to CNN Indonesia , although they won the ticket to continue thanks to indirect support from other teams, the Indonesian team's achievements deserve high praise.

This is the first time the archipelago team has entered the knockout round after 4 previous participations (1996, 2000, 2004 and 2007) they were all eliminated in the group stage.

"Looking back at the group stage, the journey of the Indonesian team was quite promising. Jordi Amat and his friends showed confidence against the big teams.

Therefore, they were not outclassed by Iraq and Japan even though they both lost 1-3. Always being successful in scoring goals is proof that coach Shin Tae Yong's team created surprises for their opponents," CNN Indonesia commented.

In particular, this newspaper also said that the victory over the Vietnamese team showed that the Indonesian team had made great progress and was ready to cause a surprise against Australia.

According to statistics, the team from the archipelago has faced Australia 18 times but has shown to be inferior when losing 14 matches, drawing 3 matches and only winning 1 match. However, this victory took place 42 years ago, exactly in 1981 at Bung Karno Stadium with a score of 1-0.

"Face it bravely," Bola also headlined ahead of the match between Indonesia and Australia.

Bola admits that the current level of the two teams is very different. Based on the latest FIFA rankings of the world football ranking website Football Ranking , Australia is ranked 23rd while the Indonesian national team is ranked 142nd.

"Physically, Australia are very strong. They are also organised. So I don't think I can find any shortcomings in the Australian defence. However, in the game, the situation will be different. This will change.

I'm still trying to figure out how we will face and break down Australia's defense," Bola quoted coach Shin Tae Yong as saying, hoping that his team will cause a surprise in their first appearance in the Asian Cup round of 16.

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