Pressure on Indonesia
The Indonesian team is thriving in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup with 6 points after 6 matches, standing in third place. The success of coach Shin Tae-yong and his team has a big mark of the naturalized players, with at least 8 or 9 players of European origin always starting each match.
However, at the 2024 AFF Cup, coach Shin Tae-yong's naturalized players are unlikely to be present because this tournament is not within the framework of FIFA, meaning that the home team can refuse to release the players. In the preliminary list for the Southeast Asian tournament, Mr. Shin summoned 3 faces of Dutch origin including Rafael Struick, Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner.
The Indonesian team (in white) will play the Vietnamese team again.
These are also the young naturalized players that Mr. Shin called up in late 2022 and early 2023 to participate in the 2023 Asian Cup and the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. This group of players participated in all 3 of Indonesia's most recent victories against Vietnam.
However, according to Indonesian media, none of these three naturalized players are certain to participate in the 2024 AFF Cup. Specifically, Hubner and Jenner have not been allowed by their home teams to join the Indonesian team in the Southeast Asian tournament. Struick has been given the green light by Brisbane Roar (Australia), but he will only be able to participate from the semi-finals (in case Indonesia passes the group stage).
As the 2024 AFF Cup approaches, the lack of Struick, Hubner and Jenner has left coach Shin Tae-yong passive in the process of assembling the squad. The consolation for Mr. Shin is that Marselino Ferdinan has been accepted by Oxford United (England) to participate in the 2024 AFF Cup.
Mr. Shin Tae-yong's Choice
In the preliminary list, coach Shin Tae-yong called up many players under the age of 22, which means they are old enough to play in the SEA Games next year. Leading the team of the archipelago in this year's tournament will still be young faces such as Hokky Caraka, Pratama Arhan, Marselino Ferdinan, Asnawi Mangkualam.
According to Mr. Shin, the Indonesian coaching staff has enough backup plans to replace the group of naturalized players.
The Indonesian team (in white) will be missing many naturalized stars.
"With Struick's problem, we have striker Hokky to replace him so it's not a problem. In the group stage, the Indonesian team must prepare carefully. However, the situation is not easy because Indonesia's opponent is the national team, which means the players are at the highest level. We will play with the U.22 force," coach Shin Tae-yong emphasized.
The Korean strategist added: "The Indonesian team is preparing carefully in Bali with the U.22 players. I hope fans will support the young players."
The Indonesian team is in Group B of the AFF Cup with Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos. Coach Shin Tae-yong and his team will compete with Vietnam at 8pm on December 15 at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho province).
Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 is broadcast live and in full on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-indonesia-va-hlv-shin-tae-yong-don-tin-xau-o-aff-cup-185241203163931796.htm
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