Before the opening match against Saudi Arabia in the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup - Asia region, the Indonesian team faced many disadvantages.
According to CNN Indonesia, coach Patrick Kluivert's team is the team that travels the longest, with the distance from the accommodation to King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah reaching 40 km. Meanwhile, Iraq only has to travel 21 km and Saudi Arabia about 20 km.
With a tight schedule and long travel distances, Indonesia has difficulty recovering and preparing for physical strength.
However, according to Arriyadiyah (Saudi Arabia), the host had proposed a more convenient hotel, but the Indonesian team chose Park Hyatt after directly inspecting the facilities.
In addition, before the match, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) recommended that the AFC request a change in the referee team to officiate the match. However, this proposal was not accepted.
According to the initial assignment, the AFC assigned referee Ahmed Al- Ali (Kuwait) to start, along with the assistant team, table referee and VAR team all from Kuwait.
This raises concerns from the PSSI, saying that referees from the Middle East, who have close geographical and political ties to Saudi Arabia, may lack objectivity when handling the match.
The AFC's failure to change the referee forced Indonesia to prepare mentally to face a match predicted to be full of pressure not only in terms of expertise but also in terms of psychology.
Despite the disadvantage, coach Kluivert affirmed: "We consider this a final match. Everyone must be physically and mentally ready."
The match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia takes place at 0:15 on October 9 (Vietnam time).
