TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir admitted that he was disappointed with the defeat of the Indonesian National Team in the last 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup. Even so, he still appreciated the hard work of Marselino Ferdinan and his friends in this four-yearly event.

The Indonesia vs Australia national team duel which took place at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar ended with a score of 0-4 in favor of The Socceroos. The four goals were created by an own goal from Elkan Baggott in the 11th minute, Martin Boyle in the 44th minute, Craig Goodwin in the 89th minute, and Harry Soutter in the 90+1 minute.

Erick, who watched the match live in Qatar, gave his comments via video call with the Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Dito Ariotedjo at a joint viewing event at the Ministry of Youth and Sports office.

"Indonesian supporters will definitely be disappointed, I am disappointed, but they have done their best and let's go back to forming a strong U-23 team to be able to compete in April. We are in the same group as Australia and Qatar, we will show them," said Erick.

The former President of the Inter Milan Club also touched on the fate of coach Shin Tae-yong with the Indonesian National Team. He said that his party would review the tactician's contract after the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.

PSSI targets Garuda Muda to qualify for the last eight. "If the U-23s can qualify for the group, that's the promise. So if now (2023 Asian Cup) they qualify for the round of 16, later in the U-23s there will be 16 teams, so qualifying for the group will be the top eight, that's the target," said Erick.

The 2024 U-23 Asian Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3. The Indonesian U-23 national team is in group A with Qatar, Australia and Jordan. Garuda Muda's first match will be against the home team on April 15 2024.

Shin Tae-yong's previous contract ended in December 2023. However, PSSI gave him a short-term extension until June 2024. If he is able to achieve the targets set, the opportunity for his term of service to be extended until 2027 is reportedly wide open.

Randy Fauzi Febriansyah

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