South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong has been sacked after four years as Indonesia's football boss as they look to qualify for the World Cup.
Indonesia has sacked its men's football coach Shin Tae-yong while the country's football director said the team needs strong leadership as they fight for a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We need a leadership that uses strategies that the players agreed on, communicates well, and implements good programs for our team,” Erick Thohir, who is the head of the Indonesia Football Association (PSSI), told reporters on Monday.
Thohir said Shin's work with the team is “over” and his replacement, who he declined to name, will arrive in Indonesia on January 11.
The Southeast Asian nation has millions of soccer fans, but Indonesia's only World Cup appearance came under Dutch rule in 1938 and the country hasn't threatened to return since independence in 1945.
Indonesia are third in their World Cup group after six out of 10 matches, one point behind Australia in the fight for second place in the finals.
If they finish third or fourth, they can reach the finals in North America through additional tournaments and international competitions.
Thohir, who said he interviewed three candidates to replace Shin during a recent trip to Europe, was not worried that changing coaches mid-campaign would disrupt the team.
“It's unusual. Many countries change coaches during the World Cup,” he added.
“This is what we have been discussing for the past few months, but I think the time is right, because we still have two and a half months to prepare for the next game.
“We have four games and we want to get as many points as possible.”
South Korean Shin took over as coach in 2019 and Thohir said he will be paid the remainder of his contract, which runs until 2027.
Shin benefited from PSSI's policy of attracting Indonesians from abroad, especially those born in the Netherlands, to play for the national team.
Indonesia was the only Southeast Asian country to reach the third round of qualifying and last November they stunned Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jakarta.