The Indonesian U23 national team is focused on recovering after Rizky Ridho and his friends failed to win automatic tickets to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Indonesian U23 national team lost 1-2 to Iraq in the race for third place in the 2024 U23 Asian Cup.
The Indonesia vs Iraq U23 national team match took place at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Thursday (2/5/2024). The Indonesian U23 national team took an early 1-0 lead over Iraq through Ivar Jenner in the 19th minute.
However, the “Garuda” team could not maintain their lead. Their goalpost is being broken through by Iraq twice in a row via the actions of Zaid Tahseen (27′) and Ali Jasim (96′).
After the match, coach Shin Tae-yong acknowledged Iraq’s toughness. “I think Iraq played well in the second half. Maybe you can all see in all our matches that our players were not completely solid at an individual level,” explained STY. “There are differences in performance levels, in almost all matches except for 1-2 players we have to play the same 11 players. Maybe that’s why we are having difficulties,” he added.
STY didn’t want to get lost in defeat. The coach from South Korea wants his team to take advantage of the opportunity to appear in the playoffs in order to qualify for the Olympics.
However, STY did not immediately increase the preparation of its foster children. He wants Marselino Ferdinand and his friends to focus on recovery. “Of course the players are very tired and exhausted, they are burnout. I think for 2-3 days we have to focus on recovery without touching the ball. After that for 3-4 days we will touch on tactics and analysis of the opponent’s game,” he explained.
The Indonesian U23 national team will play a playoff match against the African representative, Guinea, who are betting on the final ticket to Paris. The Indonesia vs Guinea national team match is scheduled to take place at the Pierre Pibarot Stadium on Thursday (9/5/2024) at 19.00 WIN. “I will try my best to bring this last chance to the Olympics. I hope 4 Asian teams will compete in the Olympics,” explained STY.
