Daily Times

Indonesia heads into its quarterfinal match against South Korea at the Under-23 Asian Cup with a chance to move a step closer to its first-ever Olympic appearance.

The top three teams in the 16-nation tournament qualify automatically for the Paris Games. Indonesia finished second in Group A behind host Qatar with wins over Jordan and Australia to progress to the last eight. The quarterfinal games are on Thursday.

“The team has only reached 50% of the goal that I set. We want to be in the semifinals,” said Indonesia coach Shin Tae-yong, who was in charge of South Korea at the 2018 World Cup and will now try to prevent his home nation from making a 10th straight Olympic appearance.

The successful group stage is another example of Indonesia´s resurgence in 2024. The senior national team, also coached by Shin, reached the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup in January for the first time and is close to progressing to the final stages of qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Australia was eliminated without even scoring a goal in its three games. Despite missing out on a ninth Olympic appearance, coach Tony Vidmar remained positive. “I´m very proud of the team, of how they played and how they performed,” Vidmar said. “They played some unbelievable, fantastic football. There was just a little bit of luck not coming on our side for the ball to go in the goal. We created many chances, but that´s been our story.”