Ammon News - Indonesia sacked South Korean Shin Tae-yong as its national soccer coach on Monday, the chief of its football association said, citing the need for better leadership as the country battles for a place in the 2026 World Cup.

Tens of millions of people in the Southeast Asian archipelago are passionate football fans, but Indonesia's sole World Cup appearance came during Dutch colonial rule in 1938 and the country has rarely threatened a return since independence in 1945.

Erick Thohir, Indonesia's football association (PSSI) chief, told a press conference Shin had "accepted the paperwork" and his work with the team had "ended".

He said Shin's replacement, whom he declined to name, would arrive in Indonesia on Jan. 11.

"We need a leadership that implements strategies as agreed with the players, communicates better, and implements better programmes for our national team," Erick said.

Indonesia are third in their World Cup group after six of 10 matches, one point behind Australia in the battle for the second automatic spot in the finals.

If they miss out, they could also take part in a fourth round of Asian qualifying. As many as nine slots in the finals are available to Asian teams. Reuters