The Indonesian team brings a very young force to the AFF Cup 2024. The list of 26 official players of the island country team has up to 24 faces from the U.21 group, with many names that have never played for the national team. The reason Mr. Shin Tae-yong called many young faces is because the Indonesian team has difficulty convening players, because the AFF Cup is not part of FIFA’s official competition system, so the host clubs have the right not to release them. People. Besides, this is also a step to prepare for the future of Indonesian football, aiming to build forces for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand and the U.23 Asian arena in 2026.
Assessing the strength of the Vietnamese team’s opponents in the 2024 AFF Cup
The three naturalized players named by coach Shin Tae-yong to the Indonesian team for the 2024 AFF Cup are Rafael Struick, Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner. Notably, among these, only Rafael Struick gathered in time with the island team to prepare for the opening match of Group B – AFF Cup 2024 against Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) has still not been able to convince the host club to let Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner return to join the national team.
Asnawi Mangkualam scored the only goal of the match for Indonesia
Football fans in the land of thousands of islands initially have grounds to be skeptical about the Korean coach’s decision to select personnel, as up to now there has been no signal that Justin Hubner and Ivar Jenner will appear at the tournament. AFF Cup 2024. The starting lineup of the Indonesian team in the opening match against Myanmar does not have any naturalized players. Rafael Struick just left his parent club to join the Indonesian team, so he is not physically fit to play from the start. Besides, the most experienced player in Mr. Shin’s hands at the moment, Asnawi Mangkualam, is also absent from the main squad, for the same reason as Rafael Struick.
Before the match, the Indonesian team was rated much higher than the home team Myanmar. However, the fact that Indonesia does not have the strongest force makes the earliest match of Group B very tense. Even the team led by Mr. Shin Tae-yong is inferior compared to Myanmar. During more than 45 minutes of the first half, the Indonesian team could only do better than their opponents in terms of ball possession. On the contrary, the Myanmar team, although not dominating the match, had 9 shots (compared to 6 for Indonesia) and 3 shots on target (compared to 0 for Indonesia). Myanmar was very close to scoring the opening goal, if Zaw Win Thein’s dangerous shot did not hit the crossbar in the 38th minute.
It can be seen that the lack of experienced players in the squad makes it impossible for Indonesia to develop a coherent playing style. The island team lacks a player who keeps pace and “deals cards” well in the midfield. Meanwhile, host Myanmar, with its physical strength in the first half, played with high intensity, causing many difficulties for Mr. Shin Tae-yong’s army.
Indonesia’s offensive front became better when prominent players such as Asnawi Mangkualam and Rafael Struick were brought onto the field at the beginning of the second half. However, Indonesia could only score a single goal thanks to its “specialty” throwing. record. Pratama Arhan’s strong throw-in was effective, creating an opportunity for Asnawi Mangkualam to shoot the decisive shot to score the only goal of the match.
The Indonesian team got what it needed, which was 3 full points in the opening match of the AFF Cup 2024. However, what happened showed that Mr. Shin Tae-yong’s team is expected to face many difficulties. in the near future.
