Japan (FIFA ranking 17th) will face Indonesia (FIFA ranking 146th) in the third Group D match of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, which will be held at Altumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 8:30 p.m. on the 24th (Korea time). Japan (3, 1 win and 1 loss, 5 wins and 4 losses, +1) is in second place, while Indonesia (3, 1 win and 1 loss, 2 wins and 3 losses, -1) is in third place.
For Japan, Suzuki Zaion, Endo Wataru, Ueda Ayase, Doan Ritz, Nakamura Keito, Hateta Leo, Yuma Nakayama, Takefusa Kubo, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Seiya Maikuma and Koki Machida will start. For Indonesia, Sayuri, Samat, Lino, Walsh, Ferdinand, Manula Vikri, Strike, Arhan, Ari, Jenner and Hoobner are on the starting lineup.
Japan lost to Iraq after showing disappointing performance in the match against Vietnam. The event was the biggest unexpected event so far, forcing Japanese reporters to tease, "Where's Kubo? He's in my pocket." As Japan prepares in a calm atmosphere, it is focusing more on the match against Indonesia than on the tournament.
There is a reason why coach Shin Tae-yong is here, but he is more interested in the possibility of early confirmation of the round of 16 teams depending on the outcome of the match between Indonesia and Japan. Twenty-four countries will participate in this tournament and play the round of 16 teams. The first and second ranking teams in each of the six groups will automatically advance to the tournament, and only the top four teams among the third ranking groups will advance to the round of 16. With Group C progressing, Qatar, Tajikistan, Australia, Uzbekistan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates have confirmed their advance to the round of 16, with China, Syria and Palestine ranking third.
China was at a disadvantage in the third-place group because it had no win, and failed to advance to the round of 16 as Syria defeated India. The probability disappeared because China had two scoreless points and the other group had at least two points. In the match between Indonesia and Japan, the losing team lacked points compared to Syria, and even if there was a draw, Indonesia was pushed out of the top four in the third-place group to secure the round of 16.
Korea currently has four points, but if the match between Japan and Indonesia is decided, it will only have three points. Thus, Korea will be able to advance to the round of 16 by ranking within the top four of the third-ranked group regardless of the result of the match against Malaysia. Attention is focusing on a match between Indonesia and Japan.
"As you know well, Japan is a really good team. The FIFA ranking is also high. It will be a very difficult match. I want to prepare well and show that our Indonesian soccer is improving," coach Shin Tae-yong said in an official press conference. "Honestly, I know Japanese soccer the best. From my career to my coach, I had a lot of matches with Japan. They are better teams than us. I want to play with the mindset that I learn from them. It feels different to meet Japan at a big tournament in a long time."