TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Indonesian National Team Coach Shin Tae-young said that the condition of the grass at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta in the match between the Indonesian vs Philippine National Team last night was not good. The stadium is often used to hold concerts and is considered to be the cause.
“I hope that there will no longer be concerts on the field, but more (used for) football matches,” he said in a press conference after the match, Tuesday, June 12 2024.
Even though the condition of the grass was not good, Shin Tae-yong’s boys were able to conquer the Philippines in the second round 2026 World Cup qualification. The match ended with a score of 2-0 through goals scored by Thom Haye and Rizky Ridho.
The condition of the SUGBK grass has been in the spotlight since it will be used by the Indonesian national team to play the second round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the Asian zone. Because previously this location was used for the Kpop group NCT Dream’s concert entitled DREAM THE SHOW 3 DREAMSCAPE on Saturday, May 19.
A few days after it was used for the concert, a picture circulated showing the SUGBK grass yellowing and damaged in several spots due to the use of a grass cover on its surface. The management claims to have maintained the grass so that it can be used for the Indonesian National Team matches. However, in reality, after two matches had passed, the conditions were still not satisfactory.
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The Indonesian national team will now look at the third round of qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup. Shin Tae-yong will work hard to prepare his team even better. The matches will start from September 2024 to June 2025. There is news circulating that the Indonesian National Team will no longer use SUGBK and will move to the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya.
Responding to this, Shin Tae-yong admitted that he had not heard it so he could not comment much. “About us going to play in Surabaya, I’ve never heard of it before. So I can’t answer that yet.”
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