On the evening of November 19, the Indonesian team won 2-0 against Saudi Arabia in the 6th match of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia. Marselino Ferdinan's double helped the archipelago team have its first victory in this qualifying round, and it was the first time in 43 years, 14 times, that Indonesia was able to defeat Saudi Arabia.
After the match, Indonesia coach Shin Tae-yong revealed: "S Saudi Arabia's high-altitude pressing ability is very good, so I changed Indonesia's match formation from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2. My three central midfielders (Marselino, Ivar Jenner and Thom Haye) played well in this match. My instructions were followed very effectively by the players.
Saudi Arabia often put a lot of pressure, so they left many gaps behind the defense. So I asked the whole team to play deep, actively change the state quickly and they did well.
With what we had prepared, in the first minutes of the match, we could have scored more than 2 goals. But I want to thank the players. They played well in this match".
With 3 more points, the team from the archipelago temporarily rose to 3rd place in Group C, the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Coach Shin Tae-yong also expressed his belief that he will work with the Indonesian team to create a miracle.
"The recent victory helps us dream of completing the goal of finishing 3rd or 4th overall. The Indonesian team has 2 more matches at home. My players have revived confidence. This is a great motivation for them to believe they can pass this qualifying round," the Korean coach affirmed.
The three decisive matches for the Indonesian team will be the match against Australia on March 20, 2025, followed by 2 matches to welcome Bahrain (March 25, 2025) and China (June 5, 2025). These 3 matches will all take place at the home stadium of the team from the archipelago.
