Indonesia confirmed to qualify for the 2020 AFF Cup final after eliminating host Singapore 5-3 on aggregate. This is the sixth final match for the Garuda squad.
Meanwhile, the opponent of the Indonesian national team is Thailand. Thailand is the team with the most AFF Cup title collections which is 5 titles. Moreover, this is the ninth final match for Thailand.
Thailand is certainly not an easy opponent. From the eight finals they have participated in, five of them ended in champions. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Thailand have met three times in the final, and Thailand has won all of them.
The last meeting between the two teams in the final took place in 2016. At that time, the Indonesian national team under the care of Alfred Riedl was able to advance to the final. The Garuda squad only had minimal preparation but managed to make it to the final.
In the first leg which was held at Pakansari Stadium, Indonesia managed to win over Thailand with a score of 2-1. In the second leg, the Garuda squad had to submit with a score of 2-0.
Of course, Indonesia does not want to repeat the bad record. For that, there are several factors that must be addressed by Shin Tae Yong’s team ahead of the final match:
Defensive line
So far, the Garuda squad is still the most productive team with 18 goals from six matches. That means, on average, in one game, STY’s team score 3 goals. Of course that number is too high for a team filled with young players with minimal experience.
Unfortunately, even though the attack line is productive, the defense line is the opposite. Of the six matches that have been played, the Garuda squad conceded 7 goals. If averaged, in one match there is at least one goal that is lodged in the goal of the Garuda squad.
In addition, Indonesia only kept one clean sheet against Vietnam. That’s because the strategy used by STY is defensive, so players manage to keep the goal from conceding. Vietnam was so difficult to penetrate the national team’s defense. It can be seen from their decision to take long-distance kicks.
However, Thailand’s level is above Indonesia. Thailand’s attacks that rely on short passes and individual player skills must be watched out for. It is not impossible, with this scheme Thailand is able to dismantle Garuda’s defense line.
Reduce fouls
The problem that Indonesia players are currently facing is committing a foul in a dangerous area. The two goals that were born in yesterday’s match were the result of set-pieces. Of course the set-piece was born from fouls committed by players.
Player fitness
In terms of player fitness, Indonesia benefited from having one day longer than Thailand. The busy schedule of the AFF Cup certainly drains players’ stamina. The existence of this extra rest time must be used properly to restore stamina.
This extra time should be used by STY to perfect the finishing touches. Although productive, many of Indonesia player’s opportunities created are far from expectations. The ability to create opportunities must be supported with a sweet finishing touch. Some players often make long-range shots that do not threaten the goal. Those are some notes that need to be addressed by STY.
