TIME.CO, Jakarta – Indonesia national team coach Shin Tae-yong is reluctant to aim for victory with a big score when he travels to Brunei Darussalam’s headquarters in the follow-up match of Group A AFF Cup 2022 at Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Malaysia on Monday, December 26, 2022. “We are focused on doing our best,” Shin said at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta, on Friday, December 23, 2022.
The South Korea tactician admitted that he is not interested in the results of Brunei Darussalam’s last two matches in Group A. Brunei started the tournament with two defeats against Thailand with a score of 0-5 and the Philippines with a score of 1-5 .
Shin realized that his team needed a crushing victory over Brunei Darussalam to help Garuda Squad qualify for the semi-finals. Winning is necessary because the ranking system in the group stage of the 2022 AFF Cup is determined by the amount of goal difference if two or more teams have the same points.
However, instead of chasing goals, he prefers to prepare the team as much as possible so that they can play well and be effective in that match. “I don’t want to see the results of Brunei Darussalam’s matches (against Thailand and the Philippines, ed). My attention is only on our team,” said Shin.
The Indonesia national team is currently in third place in the 2022 AFF Cup Group A standings after defeating Cambodia with a score of 2-1 at SUGBK, Jakarta. This win moved Indonesia to third place in the 2022 AFF Cup Group A standings with three points in a match and +1 goal difference.
Thailand are also still firmly top the table with three points (in one match) but have a goal difference of five. The Philippines are below him with three points (in two games) and +3 goal difference. Cambodia is in fourth place with three points from two games (0 goal difference). Brunei Darussalam have the status of bottom team in Group A because they always lose in two games.
Jokowi’s support for the Indonesian national team
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) also supported the Indonesian national team in the second match against Brunei. He is optimistic that the Garuda Squad can get the win after watching the match against Cambodia in the two teams’ opening match at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta on Friday.
“Alhamdulillah, our national team won 2-1, we should be thankful, but tomorrow we leave for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to compete with Brunei. Let us pray for another win,” Jokowi told the media after the match.
Indonesian national team won thanks to goals from Egy Maulana Vikri and Witan Sulaeman, while Cambodia had time to reply with Saret Krya. “Very well, actually the chances were more than 10 times before. He was alone twice (times), so how many times did he hit the goal? But yeah, the ball was round,” said Jokowi.
Read also: AFF Cup 2022: Indonesian national team vs Cambodia 2-1 in the opener, Shin Tae-yong is not satisfied
