The biggest variable in the top 18 of the national football team: whether Indonesian Bahrain will change the coach

The reporter reported coldlyIn the 5th round of the round of 18, the direct opponents of the national football team, Bahrain and Indonesia, who ranked fourth in the group, both lost, and the coaches of both teams, Tarazic and Shen Tailong, both had a coach crisis. Fans of the two countries expressed their dissatisfaction with the team on social media, and the media also began to discuss the possibility of changing the coach. The stability of the two coaches depends more on the results of the sixth round: Bahrain and Indonesia face Australia and Saudi Arabia at home respectively, and if they cannot win or even lose back-to-back, the crisis of confidence between the two coaches will be exacerbated. In December, Bahrain and Indonesia will compete in the Gulf Cup and the Southeast Asia Cup respectively, two important regional competitions, which may become a key node for the two teams to change their coaches.

Previously, Australia and Saudi Arabia had changed their coaches in Group C of the round of 18. After a bad start, the Australian team changed its coach decisively before the round of 18 in October and immediately won the first victory in the national football team. After the Saudi Arabian team changed coaches in October, they also drew away to the world's higher-ranked Australian team in the first game in November.

The away game against Indonesia and the home game against Bahrain in June next year will determine the prospects of the national football team. Whether Bahrain and Indonesia change coaches is not only related to their record in the next round of 18, but also crucial to the national football team. Judging from the current situation, it may be more beneficial for the national football team for Bahrain and Indonesia not to change coaches. The reality is that despite the poor record of the two teams, there is still one game to play in November, and the two football associations have not yet expressed a strong desire to change coaches.

After the 0-1 defeat by the national football team at home, Bahraini fans and media were very dissatisfied with the performance of the Bahrain team. After the game, Taladzic said that he guaranteed that Bahrain would qualify for the 2026 World Cup. But after all, the Bahrain team has been winless in 4 games, especially the home team against the Chinese team and the Indonesian team in the 5th and 6th pots, which originally planned to score 6 points, and finally relied on the Omani referee's "super long stoppage time" to get 1 point. The second half of the Bahrain team is not optimistic: they will play away to Japan and Indonesia in March next year, and then they will play Saudi Arabia at home in June, and then they will be away from home to the national football team, which will make it more difficult to grab points.

The Bahrain Football Association has entered the final group stage of the Asian World Cup three times before, and only the 2006 quarterfinals have changed coaches halfway. At that time, the Bahrain team changed three coaches in six games in the group stage, and the third Croatian coach Pruzovic took office in August to qualify for the play-offs, and was defeated by Trinidad and Tobago in Central and North America in November and missed the World Cup finals, and was dismissed after more than three months. In the 2002 and 2010 World Cup Asian top 10 matches, the Bahrain team did not change coaches. In the top 10 of the 2010 World Cup, Czech coach Makara led the team to the intercontinental play-offs again, unfortunately losing to New Zealand, and once again one step away from the World Cup.

After the home defeat to China, former Bahrain international Khubayr, who won the Golden Boot in the 2004 Asian Cup, took the lead in calling for a change of coach, believing that it was Taradzic's tactical mistakes that caused the players to not play at the level they should have. Many Bahraini fans expressed their dissatisfaction on social media platforms and believed that Taladzic should take responsibility for the defeat and resign as he said in his post-match press conference. The Middle East Times believes that Taladzic's tactics and personnel are too conservative and rigid, and the main lineup is almost unchanged. However, Kooora quoted Bahrain's local "Daily (Al Ayyam)" and "Al Watan" as reporting that the Bahrain Football Association has no intention of changing the coach. Bahrain Football Federation President Ben Khalifa held a meeting with Bahrain Sports General Administration CEO Azka to assess the team's performance in the round of 18, believing that Taladzic only took over from Argentine coach Pizzi in February this year, and the Gulf Cup in December is the right time to make a choice.

The Indonesian team is also facing the same position crisis as the Bahrain team, and more and more fans and media are beginning to question Shin's coaching ability. As early as October, after losing 1-2 to the national football team, there was a wave of doubts about Shen Tailong's tactics and employment in Indonesia. After the 0-4 defeat to the Japanese team, which was not the main team, although there were still some Indonesian fans who consoled with Bahrain by conceding fewer goals against Japan than the national football team, the Indonesian team's previous exposure of ineffective offense and unstable defense is still the same. Moreover, Shen Tailong changes the starting lineup every game, and the Indonesian Football Association has gone to great lengths to naturalize Reinders and has not been included in the squad for two consecutive games, which makes fans and media worry that it will affect the mentality of naturalized players and the willingness of naturalized target players.

Indonesia's Bola Network believes that in October's game against Bahrain and the national football team, Shen Tailong made mistakes in the use of personnel, and replaced as many as three starters after half time for the national football team. The Indonesian team is still lacking in scoring goals in the front line, and the defense is constantly making mistakes. The number of naturalized players is increasing, but Shin Tailong can't afford to pinch players who play in Europe's top leagues into a team. At the beginning of the year, the Asian Cup, the U23 Asian Cup and then the round of 18, as the team's performance declined, Shen Tailong's aura is rapidly fading. Indonesian Football Association President Tohir is still supporting Shen Tailong, but he also admitted that if the Indonesian team does not qualify for the top four and enters the play-offs, let alone Shen Tailong, even he will take the blame and resign. This also means that as long as Thohir is still on stage, Shen Tailong will most likely not be fired due to poor performance.

According to Indonesian media outlet CNNINDONESIA, after the home match against Japan, Tohir spoke in an interview about whether he would resign, saying: "I met with the media after the game and I talked to them about my responsibilities as president of the Football Association and some of the achievements I have achieved. I brought in coaches for the team and naturalized players to convince them of the team's plans for the future. If I don't have the trust of the players anymore, I'm going to resign as president of the Football Association. We have five games to play, three at home and two away, and we need at least nine points to finish in the top four, so I want everyone here to reflect. ”

With the deepening of the round of 18 matches, compared with the tactics and employment that are likely to change after the change of coach, the Bahrain and Indonesian teams that do not change coaches basically continue the current tactics and main player configuration, which is obviously more conducive to the national football team to cope with the final moment of qualifying.