Philippines coach Shin Tae-yong affirmed that the host country is not a problem, before the two teams meet in the second round of Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
*Philippines - Indonesia: 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 21, Hanoi time.
Indonesia are bottom of Group F after their first game, losing 1-5 in Iraq. However, Shin said that if Indonesia beat the Philippines in their next match, it would not mean they had avenged their defeat. "Our goal is to win the next match to show our opponents our strength," the Korean coach added.
Coach Shin Tae-yong at a press conference on the afternoon of November 20, 2023, one day before the Philippines vs. Indonesia match at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, round two of Group F, second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Photo: PSSI
When asked about the pressure of having to play away for the second consecutive match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, coach Shin said: "Meeting the host Philippines is not a problem. We will try our best to win. Thank you for this question."
The Philippines are currently ranked 138th in the FIFA rankings, seven places above Indonesia. However, in the last two AFF Cups, Indonesia reached the semi-finals or advanced further, while the Philippines only stopped in the group stage. "The Philippines' performance has improved, and they have definitely studied us," Mr. Shin added. "But Indonesia doesn't care about that. We want to play with what we have."
The Philippines squad currently has six players playing in the Indonesian championship, including three who played against Vietnam in the first round: center back Christian Rontini, left back Daisuke Sato and midfielder Mike Ott. When asked if these players' understanding of Indonesian football was a problem, coach Shin once again did not care about the opponent.
Coach Shin is under a lot of pressure in Indonesia, as he has not helped the team win any titles. He led the team to win the bronze medal at the 31st SEA Games, the runner-up of the 2020 AFF Cup and the runner-up of the 2023 Southeast Asian U23. Indonesia's gold medal in men's football at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia was thanks to the skills of local coach Indra Sjafri.
Mr. Shin, 53, was a midfielder when he was still playing football. He won the K League five times with Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, and was included in the best team of the tournament nine times. As a coach, he had a "good hand" when he helped Seongnam win the AFC Champions League in 2010, then won the East Asian Championship with Korea in 2017. After the Korean team stopped in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, he quit. In December 2019, he started leading Indonesia, at times leading the U20, U23 and national teams.
Hoang An
Source link
Comment (0)