In the early morning of October 9 (Vietnam time), the Indonesian team will officially enter the first match of the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.
In this qualifying round, FIFA chose Saudi Arabia as the host of Group B. The West Asian team benefits greatly when the players mainly play domestically, without having to spend time traveling. On the contrary, opponents like Iraq or Indonesia are at a clear disadvantage.
In terms of strength, Indonesia does not have a great reputation like Saudi Arabia, but the appearance of naturalized players of Dutch origin has elevated the Southeast Asian team. Under coach Patrick Kluivert, Indonesia drew and beat Saudi Arabia in the third qualifying round to earn 4 points.
On the Saudi side, coach Herve Renard is still under great pressure when he cannot help his team win tickets early. For a World Cup strategist, reaching the 4th qualifying round is considered a failure.
The match against Indonesia is therefore a vital one for both teams and the two coaches. Mr. Renard needs a victory to keep his seat, while Mr. Kluivert needs to affirm his talent after a 0-6 defeat to Japan.
Saudi Arabia has dominated Indonesia in previous meetings with 11 wins in 14 matches, but Indonesia is now unbeaten in the last two matches against their opponents.
The West Asian team participated in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups but were all eliminated early after the group stage. The Green Falcons were also eliminated from the group stage in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
The only time they passed the group stage was at the 1994 World Cup. In general, their international experience is rated much higher than Indonesia.
The match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup will take place at 0:15 on October 9, broadcast live on K+.
Live link:
https://xem.kplus.vn/discovery/AFC_Asian_Qualifiers_2026?id=asianqualifiers_playoffs_p1
