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Rocky road awaits as Indonesia makes history in Asian Cup
The historic achievement of the Indonesian senior men's soccer team in reaching the round of 16 of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup should be celebrated, but it only serves as the beginning of further short-term progress in the competition, as well as a longer-term journey for the country's national soccer development, observers say.
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Players of the Indonesian men's soccer team line up on Jan. 15, 2024 to sing the national anthem prior to their 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group D soccer match against Iraq at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. (Antara/Yusran Uccang)
T
he Indonesian national soccer team has made history by reaching the top-16 spot of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since the competition started nearly 70 years ago, although fans and observers remain cautious about the national team’s road ahead in the competition.
The senior men’s soccer team made it to the round of 16 of the 2023 installment of the cup, held in Qatar this year, after Kyrgyzstan drew against Oman in their last group stage match.
Oman was leading for most of Thursday night’s match after striker Muhsen al-Ghassani scored in the eighth minute. But Kyrgyzstani striker Joel Kojo equalized on the 80th minute, bringing the game to a draw.
Oman and Kyrgyzstan were eliminated from the competition, allowing Indonesia to squeeze as one of the four third-placed teams in their respective groups, to get to the knockout stage. The other teams qualifying through the same route were Jordan, Palestine and Syria.
Read also: Indonesia, South Korea, Bahrain, make Asian Cup last 16
The Indonesian team received the news with elation, as shown by videos uploaded to social media showing players barging into the hotel room of coach Shin Tae-yong in Doha to celebrate.
The 53-year-old South Korean coach shared that he was “very happy” with the outcome. Shin initially targeted the Indonesian national team reaching the top-16 with one win, one draw and one defeat.
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