Coached by Korean tactician Shin Tae-yong, Indonesia has advanced to the third round in the Asian World Cup qualifying campaign for the first time.
Indonesia sealed their spot by defeating the Philippines 2-0 in their final Group F match of the second round at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Thanks to goals by Thom Haye and Rizky Ridho, Indonesia finished second in their group with 10 points, eight behind Iraq.
Finishing one spot below Indonesia were Vietnam, coached by Korea’s Kim Sang-sik. Vietnam finished in third with six points after a 3-1 loss to Iraq on Tuesday.
From the second round, the top two nations from each of the nine groups qualified for the next phase.
Indonesia has taken big steps since Shin, former 커뮤니티 head coach for the Korean men’s national team, took the reins in December 2019 for both the senior and the under-23 men’s squads.
At the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup earlier this year, Indonesia reached the round of 16, their first knockout appearance ever at the top continental event.
Then in April, Shin took Indonesia to the semifinals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup for the first time. In the tournament, which doubled as the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament, Indonesia knocked off Korea on penalties in the quarterfinals and prevented Shin’s native country from qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
Shin has now taken Indonesia deeper than they have ever been in World Cup qualification.
