On March 20, Indonesia will face Australia in Group C, the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.
Currently, the team from the archipelago still has a chance to compete. They are in 3rd place with 6 points after 6 matches. But all three teams, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China, also have the same 6 points, ranked behind due to poor secondary index. This is also considered the death group as only Japan is superior.
Australia is only 1 point ahead of Indonesia. Considering the fierce race in this group, Indonesia must beat Australia to rise to second place.
Japan could hardly be dropped from the No. 1 position after winning 16 points after 6 matches. They only need 3 more points to officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
According to Bola, if they make a surprise against the Socceroos, coach Patrick Kluivert and his team can increase their FIFA rankings by 11. Indonesia is currently ranked 127th. If they win, they will be awarded 20.76 points, which in theory will increase to 116th place, only 2 places behind the Vietnamese team (114).
Because Australia is ranked 26th in the world, if they have a good result against this opponent, Indonesia will be significantly promoted. If they get 3 points against Australia, the archipelago team will have a more relaxed mentality in the next matches, when they still have to face China and Japan in June.
In case they lose to Australia, Indonesia still has only 6 points on the rankings, there is a high possibility that there will be no more opportunities to compete for the top 2 position. Even in a draw, Patrick Kluivert and his team will have a hard time if any of the Saudi Arabia, China or Bahrain teams win this match.
Currently, coach Kluivert is aiming to win 4 points from the next two matches against Australia and Bahrain.
To be second in the group, Indonesia must have at least 9 points from 4 matches. Thus, their scores are certainly higher than the other 4 teams.
If they cannot continue through a direct ticket, the journey to the biggest football festival on the planet will be extremely difficult. According to the format, the teams ranked 3rd and 4th in the groups will continue to participate in the 4th qualifying round.
Here, the teams will be divided into 2 groups (3 teams each). The match took place on a neutral field, only meeting each other once. The top two teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
After that, the two second-placed teams in the 4th qualifying round will compete in two rounds. The winning team will play in the intercontinental play-off.
