Coach Shin Tae-yong receives ultimatum, threatened with dismissal.

" Personally, I just had a meeting with coach Shin Tae-yong. We had a clear discussion about the Indonesian national team's goals in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. A position in the top four is the target we must achieve."

"Mr. Shin needs to prepare everything to win points in the two home matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia. These opponents are strong, and we can close the gap if we do well. Two teams have already changed coaches, which shows the high standards of the federations aiming to qualify for the World Cup ," Indonesian media quoted the president of the Indonesian Football Federation, Erick Thohir, as saying.

Coach Shin Tae-yong is under a lot of pressure.

For the first time in football history, Indonesia has qualified for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. However, the dream of reaching the biggest football event in the world is not as easy as Indonesians imagine. Despite having 13 naturalized players worth millions of dollars, Indonesia has played well but has yet to win a match. They have drawn 3 and lost 1 in their first 4 games.

This message shows the firmness of businessman Erick Thohir. In fact, Thom Haye and his team still have many opportunities to think about qualifying for the fourth round. Indonesia is at the bottom of Group C but level on points with China, only 2 points behind the teams above them: Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.

Japan alone remains undefeated and has 10 points after 4 matches. According to the rules, the top two teams from each of the three groups will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The third and fourth-placed teams from each group advance to Round 4. In this round, teams play a single round-robin format, with group winners also qualifying for the World Cup. The two second-placed teams will play an additional two-legged match to determine the team that will compete in an intercontinental play-off for a World Cup spot.

Indonesian football is focusing all its efforts on the World Cup qualifiers. To date, the Indonesian Football Federation has not set a specific target for the 2024 AFF Cup and remains fully focused on the matches against Australia and Saudi Arabia in November.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/hlv-shin-tae-yong-nhan-toi-hau-thu-doa-bi-sa-thai-ar904640.html