Football
John Duerden, Asia correspondent 4y

Indonesia axe Simon McMenemy after poor start to World Cup qualification

Indonesia have dismissed Simon McMenemy as national team head coach after four straight defeats at the start of 2022 World Cup qualification.

There have been reports in Jakarta for weeks that the position of the British coach, who came to prominence in Southeast Asia in 2010 at the age of 32 by leading the Philippines to the last four of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, was precarious and the axe fell after a meeting of the Indonesia FA (PSSI) on Tuesday.

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"We thank Simon for the cooperation so far," PSSI Chairman Mochamad Iriawan said.

"Hopefully the game against Malaysia will get positive results," he added, referring to the next Group G test which comes against Indonesia's bitter regional rivals in Kuala Lumpur on November 19.

McMenemy, 41, won the 2017 Indonesian title with Bhayangkara in 2017 and signed a two-year contract with the national team last December.

While Indonesia sit bottom of their five-team group and are out of the running to progress to the next stage of qualification for the Qatar World Cup, an upturn in results in the remaining four games against Malaysia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, could still earn a place at the 2023 Asian Cup.

Shin Tae-yong, who led South Korea at the 2018 World Cup, has already been linked with the vacant position with former Real Madrid star Luis Milla, fired by Indonesia in October 2018, reportedly in the running to return for a second spell in charge of the Merah Putih.

"I want to say to the fans, please be patient," Iriawan added. "We must choose the right man for the job as he will be in place until 2021."

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