The Indonesian team is aiming to qualify for the World Cup finals for the second time in history, having first qualified since 1938. This time, the journey of coach Shin Tae-yong and his team is still very difficult, but they have shown clear progress. Valuable draws against Saudi Arabia (1-1), Australia (0-0) and Bahrain (2-2) helped the team from the archipelago accumulate 3 points.
Indonesia are fifth in Group C and have yet to win in the third round, two points behind Bahrain, making every point crucial in their bid to keep their World Cup dream alive.
Now they face their toughest challenge of the third qualifying round, when they face Japan. The Blue Samurai have an outstanding record, having gone 4 games unbeaten, scoring the most goals (15) and having the best defense (1 conceded).
Coach Hajime Moriyasu received much praise at a time when Japan had a disappointing performance at the 2023 Asian Cup earlier this year.
As one of the leading football teams in the continent, the country of the rising sun is familiar with the World Cup. They easily passed the second qualifying round by winning all 6 matches, scoring 24 points and not conceding any goals, 9 points more than the second-placed team, North Korea.
In the third qualifying round, Japan continued that form with a dominant 7-0 win over China, 5-0 over Bahrain and 2-0 over Saudi Arabia. With the goal of moving closer to securing an eighth consecutive World Cup berth, a victory is completely within Moriyasu's reach.
Expected lineup
Indonesia: Paes; Walsh, Diks, Amat, Idzes, Verdonk; Sulaeman, Jenner, Haye, Oratmangoen; Struick
Japan: Suzuki; Itakura, Taniguchi, Machida; Doan, Endo, Morita, Mitoma; Minamino, Kubo; Furuhashi.
