Against Guinea, Indonesia has a rare chance to achieve a double achievement

Even so, Indonesia still gets a playoff spot against Guinea, which is also a semifinalist in the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations. Indonesia is the second Olympic playoff contestant from Asia. Previously, Oman had the opportunity to become the fourth ambassador from Asia at the 2012 London Olympics. However, Oman's steps were stopped by Senegal.

Also read: Indonesia vs Guinea, Twin Ambition to End Long Wait to Appear at the Olympics

The situation of a life-and-death struggle to secure the ultimate ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics has led Indonesia's coach, Shin Tae-yong, to implement a different tactical approach compared to their performance in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. Shin will present a far more pragmatic Indonesian performance to simply chase results.

"I will provide a different game. I do not care about the contents of the competition, because what is most important to me is that we can get a ticket to the Olympics," said Shin in a statement to the media online on Wednesday night.

The match against Guinea resembles a rivalry between two developing football regions amid the hegemony of Europe and South America. In the presence of football at the Olympics, Asia has only sent four ambassadors once. This was created at the 1948 Olympics in London. At that time, Asia's representatives were China, India, South Korea, and Afghanistan.

Africa once had four representatives at the Olympics, which occurred in the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012 editions. This achievement was achieved thanks to the victory of the African ambassador in one playoff match. In contrast to Africa and Asia, Europe has always been able to send four representatives to the Olympics since Atlanta 1996 or there have been eight consecutive editions.

FIFA gives European teams the privilege of getting a place in the playoff games. If Europe hosts the Olympics, the playoffs will bring together African and Asian teams.

I will give a different game. I don't care about the content of the match because the most important thing for me is that we can get tickets to the Olympics.

As a result, if Indonesia and other Asian representatives fail to win against Guinea in France, they will have to wait at least until 2036 to send four teams to the Olympics. This is only possible if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) designates another European country as the host after Brisbane (Australia) in the 2032 edition.

Also read: Dewangga Arrives, Indonesia U-23 Gets Additional Back Line Strength

Waiting 68 years

On the other hand, the "Garuda Muda" squad also has ambitions to end their 68-year wait to compete in the main stage of the Olympics. Qualifying for Paris 2024 is the best opportunity to make a new golden history for Indonesian football.

Marselino Ferdinan and his friends will receive a place equal to the Indonesian legends who will never be forgotten, such as Ramang, Tan Liong Houw, Maulwi Saelan, Aang Witarsa, as well as the sibling duo Ramlan and Ramli Yatim.

In fact, the team coached by Shin Tae-yong's protege deserves greater appreciation for qualifying for the Olympics after going through a series of qualifying stages. Meanwhile, Indonesia's qualification for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics was like receiving a "gift" due to Taiwan's withdrawal in the qualifying round.

"I am ready to deploy all my best abilities to help the team qualify for the Olympics," said center-back Alfeandra Dewangga, following his teammates from Semarang, Central Java, and arriving in France on Tuesday, May 7th, 2024.

Facing Guinea is certainly not an easy matter, especially since Indonesia is very unaware of the power of African teams. Since actively participating in international matches in 1951, Indonesia has only tested the strength of African teams 15 times. The last time this happened was when playing two matches against Burundi in March 2023.

Indonesia has faced Guinea once before. The first and only meeting took place in Ganefo 1965 at Moranbong Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea. At that time, Indonesia lost 1-3 to Guinea in a match held on August 3, 1965.

Also read: Falling from Iraq, Indonesia Knocks on the Final Door to the Paris Olympics

On the other hand, Shin revealed the less-than-ideal condition of his foster children after suffering two consecutive defeats in the 2024 U-23 Asia Cup. Besides experiencing mental and physical fatigue, some members of the Indonesian squad also suffered minor injuries.

"We have earned this opportunity (on the verge of qualifying for the Olympics) through hard work. Therefore, we must work even harder to overcome the problems faced during the team's preparation for the match against Guinea," said Shin.

Best player

Guinea is also determined not to waste the opportunity to appear at the Olympics since Mexico 1968. Guinea U-23 coach Kaba Diawara called four potential debutant players in the Guinea U-23 team in the match against Indonesia.

They are Facinet Conte (forward, Bastia), Illaix Moriba (midfielder, Getafe), Saidou Sow (defender, Strasbourg), and Ibrahim Diakite (defender, Stade Lausanne). Even though they don't have a cap in the U-23 team yet, the four of them are Diawara's mainstays in the Guinean team. They are members of the Guinean squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 African Cup of Nations last January.

The four players who play in Europe have joined their teammates during training sessions on Monday (6/5/2024), at Leo Lagrance Stadium in Besancon, France. Meanwhile, the other 15 Guinean players have undergone training camps since March in Girona, Spain.

The team nicknamed "National Elephant" has undergone two trial matches against the US U-23 team and the local team, UE Olot. Guinea lost 0-3 to the US on March 22. Then, Guinea clinched a 4-0 victory over UE Olot on March 26. The winner between Guinea and Indonesia will face the US, France, and New Zealand in Group A.

”We believe we can win a ticket to the Olympics by giving our performance wholeheartedly in the playoffs. "We only have one decisive game, so make it happen or the opportunity is wasted," Diawara said as quoted by the FIFA website.