Indonesian newspaper: 'Shin Tae-yong aspires to defeat Vietnam'

*Vietnam - Indonesia: 8pm Saturday, August 26, on MetaSports.

"Shin Tae-yong has raised the bar for Indonesian football. But so far, he has not won a title despite leading many levels of the team since 2020," this newspaper commented. "This week, Shin will have a chance to win the first title. But to do that, he needs to help the home team beat Vietnam. Shin certainly has great motivation in this final. He is probably prepared. best tactic to defeat Vietnam".

Appointed as head coach of Indonesia in 2020, Coach Shin once led the U20, U23 and national team of this country. However, despite having built a generation of players to raise the level of football in the land of thousands of islands, the Korean leader has never won a title with Indonesian football. The best achievement he has ever achieved is the runner-up position of the AFF Cup 2020 and the bronze medal at the 2021 SEA Games.

When it first won the SEA Games three months ago, Indonesia was led by coach Indra Sjafri. At that time, they beat Vietnam 3-2 in the semi-finals and then beat Thailand 5-2 after 120 minutes of extra time in the final. Indonesia went to Thailand to attend the Southeast Asian U23 tournament with a strong force, and the presence of coach Shin showed their determination to be crowned.

Besides the coach, Bola thinks that striker Ramadhan Sananta will be the most awaited player in the Indonesian squad in the final. This newspaper commented: "Ramadhan Sananta is Indonesia's main goalscorer in the group stage. But this dependence is not good for the team. This can be seen in the 1-0 victory over Timor Leste. A lot of opportunities are created. But there was only one goal. However, this dependence gradually disappeared in the semi-finals. Other strikers like Jeam Kelly Sroyer started to speak up and the defenders also knew how to score from set pieces."

Finally, Indonesia's leading sports newspaper appreciates Indonesia's psychological progress. According to them, although the performance was not as expected in the group stage, the 3-1 victory over Thailand created excitement for the home team. This helps Indonesian players eliminate their inferiority complex and prepare the best for the confrontation with Vietnam.