Indonesia coach wants big victory over Vietnam

When Indonesia began training more than a week ago, coach Shin affirmed that his team must win both matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Vietnam "at all costs." He believes only such a result will help the team escape the bottom position of group F and get closer to the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

In the press conference on Wednesday at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta, Shin was very confident with that target.

"We are thoroughly prepared to win the next two matches. Some couldn't play due to injuries and suspension. But Indonesia have a strong enough squad to replace them," he said.

Coach Shin wants Indonesia to win big at home stadium Bung Karno, to gain more confidence before going to Hanoi for the second leg on March 26.

"We are at the bottom of the table but that does not affect our goal. Indonesia will try to keep a clean sheet and score many goals against Vietnam," he added.

Shin's confidence comes from the fact that Indonesia have just naturalized many players from Europe.

The Indonesian coach disagreed with the opinion that players who have just been naturalized cannot immediately adapt to the team.

"It's true that we have many new players. But they are all high-level football players in Europe, so they will not have difficulty adapting to a new team. I believe they will be helpful to the team," Shin said.

The advantage of home stadium Bung Karno with a capacity of nearly 80,000 is also another reason for coach Shin to be confident.

"I heard that the tickets were sold out. The atmosphere in the stadium will be so great. We have the responsibility to perform our best and claim a good result to repay the support of the home fans."

In the most recent encounter, Indonesia won 1-0 and eliminated Vietnam early from the Asian Cup group stage in January 2024. This is coach Shin's first victory in encounters with Vietnam at the national team level and also Indonesia's first victory after eight years of only drawing and losing.

For Vietnam, that failure put coach Philippe Troussier under great pressure. Under the Frenchman's leadership, Vietnam have not achieved the desired results when facing opponents of equal or superior strength.

However, according to Coach Shin, Vietnam are still a strong football team in Southeast Asia, alongside Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. He also sympathized with his colleague Troussier who has only been in power for a short time.

"Troussier is a good coach. I think Vietnamese football needs to be given more time for him to prove his ability and achieve good results."