Indonesia vs. South Korea, Antithesis Patent Test of Two Trainers

In the final match of Group B against Japan on Monday (22/4/2024), South Korea attacked with a 3-4-3 tactic, then played with a 5-4-1 formation when the opponent had possession of the ball. The implementation of this formation is similar to what Shin applied during the three matches played by Indonesia in Group A.

South Korea has a great opportunity to play the same tactics as when they defeated Japan 1-0. This is based on Lee's condition, who has not fully recovered.

Also read: No Compromise from STY for South Korea

"I doubt that Lee can play. That is certainly a big loss for us as Lee is the only pure striker that we have. However, we have other options (in the forward line)," said Hwang in a press conference before the match on Wednesday (24/3/2024) in Doha.

Not only do both teams have almost similar formations, but their game approaches also do not differ much. Indonesia and South Korea build their attacks from the back. The goalkeeper's goal kick will be directed towards the center-back who will then determine the flow of the ball to the wing or focus the attack from the midfield.

Both teams were also extremely dominant in playing short passes. South Korea is a team with the second highest average possession rate in the group stage of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. They collected an average of 531 passes per game. The number is only behind Uzbekistan's record of an average of 575 passes per match.

We will strive to not provide any room that can be exploited by Indonesian players. We will maintain unity to fill every inch of space on the field.

Indonesia only makes an average of 359 passes per game, but the attack build-up, especially in counter-attack transitions, the "Garuda Muda" squad consistently plays short passes. The one-two short pass combination game was also dominantly shown by Indonesia and South Korea when they entered the final third of the opponent's defense zone.

Also read: If you beat South Korea, the U-23 Indonesian National Team will appear in France

Even so, Indonesia is not completely against playing long balls which maximize movement without the ball and the speed of the three front players, namely Witan Sulaeman, Rafael Struick and Marselino Ferdinan. This style of play is applied more to escape from the opponent's high-pressing.

"We will strive not to give space that can be exploited by Indonesian players. We will maintain our cohesion to fill every inch of space on the field", said Hwang.

The center-back and captain of South Korea, Byun Jun-soo, mentioned that Indonesia is a well-organized team. In addition, Indonesian players are very fast and appear to be very aggressive.

"They gained a lot of momentum (attacking) in the three preliminary matches. They played at a high level," said Byun, who is determined to maintain South Korea's clean sheet record when they face Indonesia.

Even though South Korea has a strong defense, Indonesia still has hopes of threatening the "Taegeuk Troop" goal. This method can imitate the Chinese style of applying pressing when South Korean players start attacks from the back line. On the other hand, China can also penetrate South Korea's defense with one-two passes on the wings.

Also read: Nathan Returns, Indonesian U-23 Team Full Strength Against South Korea

In three preliminary round matches, China is the team that has collected the most shots on target towards South Korea's goal with five shots. This number is better than Japan, which recorded only two shots on target towards the goal.

The notes indicate that Indonesian players need to be more effective in utilizing opportunities. At least the way to defeat Australia with a score of 1-0 from the only shot on target needs to be duplicated.

Wahyu Tanoto, a legend of Indonesia's national team, said that Garuda Muda has a speed advantage over South Korean players. According to Wahyu, this gives Indonesia a greater chance if they can maximize their speed, especially with wing players, to dismantle South Korea's defense.

”From the match against Jordan, our players were able to perform with fast attacks which made it difficult for the opponent to keep up. This is what must be utilized. "Apart from that, Indonesia must also be more dominant in winning duels in the magic square or the middle third of the field in order to increase the chances of creating opportunities," said Wahyu, who defended Indonesia against South Korea in the second round of the 1986 World Cup Qualification, 21 July. 1985.

Dead ball

Both coaches should also consider ways to reduce the threat from dead ball situations for each team. South Korea has scored two goals from corner kicks, while Indonesia has also scored one goal from a corner kick and another goal from a powerful long throw by left wingback Pratama Arhan.

Indonesia must be cautious of the "towers" owned by South Korea that are over 1.85 meters tall. In addition to Lee, who is the tallest player in South Korea at 1.92 meters, South Korea also has Kim Min-woo, who scored the only goal against Japan, with a height of 1.85 meters. There are also Byun (1.9 m), An Jae-jun (1.85 m), and Lee Kang-hee (1.88 m). When playing, these five players always stay in the opponent's penalty box during dead ball situations.

“South Korea has players with tall stature and good physical strength. "We have to be able to reduce their physical advantages," said Shin.

As for Indonesia's strategy in facing corner kicks and long throws from Arhan, generally the ball is directed towards Muhammad Ferrari (1.81 m) or Justin Hubner (1.87 m). Not only those two, Komang Teguh (1.77 m) also becomes an option for dead ball passes.

If you pay attention to the posture of the South Korean players, it is certainly difficult for the three of them to win a direct duel when the ball is headed towards them. Indonesia's opportunity in dead ball situations is actually created when they win the second ball duel. Indonesia demonstrated this scheme when Komang scored the only goal against Australia.

In addition to playing short and utilizing dead balls skillfully, Indonesia and South Korea also have another similarity, which is focusing their attacks on the wings. The game on the side of the field is more focused on opening up space with dribbling skills, and then releasing a cross pass, whether it be a ground or high ball, into the opponent's penalty box.

"I saw our wing-back players playing disciplinedly in containing the opponent's attacks from the wings during the preliminary round match. That should be maintained because Indonesia must be able to contain South Korea's attacks so that they cannot send the ball into the penalty box," said Wahyu.

Despite having a better tradition and history in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, Indonesia's hope to eliminate South Korea and break their record of appearing in the Olympics since Seoul 1988 still remains. Shin could be the "x factor" that can help Garuda Muda attack the Taegeuk Forces.

Besides that, the South Korean squad was not as luxurious when they won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in October 2023. At that time, Hwang had key players such as Lee Kang-in and Jeong Woo-yeong, who regularly defended the senior South Korean team. Lee Young-jun, who has the status of a South Korean U-20 player in the 2023 U-20 World Cup, is the best player in the current South Korean U-23 squad.

Young Garuda, you can do it!