After qualifying for the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup - Asia region, Indonesia continues to face 2 extremely strong opponents, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
According to the old competition schedule, this team will face a big disadvantage with high competition density and very close competition time. This has left the players without enough time to recover, especially in the harsh weather in West Asia.
Meanwhile, opponents Saudi Arabia and Iraq will have longer breaks or play late, which is favorable for players' physical condition.
Regarding the recovery of Indonesia's players and the geographical distance as the only representative outside the Middle East, President of the Indonesian Football Federation - Mr. Erick Thohir has sent a petition to AFC, requesting to adjust the match schedule.
He said: "With the competition density of 3 days/match and different competition times, it will lead to a huge disadvantage for Indonesian players in terms of recovery time compared to their opponents".
After receiving comments from the Indonesian Football Federation, the AFC agreed to this request by rescheduling the match between Indonesia and Iraq at 10:30 p.m. local time, while creating more ideal recovery time for the players.
Accordingly, the team from the archipelago will meet Saudi Arabia at 0:15 on October 9 and meet Iraq at 2:30 on October 12 (Vietnam time).
Sharing about this decision of the AFC, Mr. Erick Thohir said: We would like to thank the AFC for their positive feedback and decision, reflecting the sportsmanship and fairness in sports.
Indonesia has previously met Japan's request to rearrange matches and we believe that mutual respect and maintaining fair play principles are the key to common progress."
In addition, the PSSI president also said that the AFC will not assign West Asian referees to officiate Indonesia's matches in the 2026 World Cup Fourth Qualifiers - Asia region. This is considered a beneficial factor for coach Patrick Kluivert and his team when facing two representatives from the Middle East.
It is expected that the Indonesian team will add a number of more naturalized players to prepare for the fourth qualifying round taking place in October.
