Indonesia sacks football coach Shin in search of FIFA World Cup 2026 spot football news
South Korean coach Shin Tae-yong has been sacked after four years in charge as the Indonesian football chief eyes World Cup qualification.
Indonesia has sacked its men’s football coach Shin Tae-yong and the country’s football chief has said the team needs stronger leadership as they fight for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We need leadership that implements strategies agreed with the players, communicates better and implements better programs for our national team,” Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) chief Eric Thohir told a press conference on Monday. Do.”
Thohir said Shin’s work with the team is “terminated” and that his replacement, whom he declined to name, will arrive in Indonesia on January 11.
The south-east Asian nation has millions of passionate football fans, but Indonesia’s only World Cup appearance came during Dutch rule in 1938 and the country has rarely threatened a comeback since independence in 1945.
Indonesia sit third in their World Cup group after six out of 10 matches, one point behind Australia in the battle for the second automatic spot in the finals.
If they finish third or fourth, they can still reach the finals in North America through further rounds of qualifying and an intercontinental playoff.
Thohir, who said he had interviewed three candidates to replace Shin during a recent trip to Europe, was not worried that a change of coach in the middle of the campaign would disrupt the team.
“It is normal. “Many countries change their coaches during World Cup qualifiers.”
“This is something we have been discussing for several months already, but I think this is the right time, because we still have two and a half months to prepare for the next Games.
“We still have four matches and we want to get as many points as we can.”
South Korean Shin took over as coach in 2019 and Thohir said he will be compensated for the remainder of his contract, which runs until 2027.
Shin benefited from the PSSI policy of enticing members of the Indonesian diaspora, most of whom were born in the Netherlands, to play for the national team.
Indonesia was the only Southeast Asian nation to reach the third round of qualifying and defeated regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jakarta last November.
