In the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, Indonesia will play 2 matches at home in November 2024. They will meet Japan on November 15 and Saudi Arabia 4 days later. In Group C, Indonesia is ranked 5/6 with 3 points.
To have a chance to compete for a ticket to the World Cup, the Southeast Asian team must be in the Top 4 of the group. This is also the goal that Erick Thohir reiterated when meeting Shin Tae-yong, before the upcoming gathering of the Indonesian team.
“I met with coach Shin Tae-yong. We are talking seriously about the Indonesian national team’s goal of at least entering the top four. The coach’s task is to prepare the best possible squad and tactics, especially for the two home matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia next month,” Erick Thohir told Bola (Indonesia).
The head of PSSI hopes that the Indonesian team must find the optimal strategy and maintain stability in competition to prepare for the two upcoming difficult matches.
Mr. Erick Thohir also did not forget to mention that in the group of the Indonesian team, there were 2 teams that changed coaches due to poor performance. The Australian team replaced Graham Arnold with Tony Popovic, while the Saudi Arabia team reappointed Herve Renard to replace Roberto Mancini.
“This shows the high level of competition in the World Cup qualifiers, where federations have high demands for teams to qualify for the 2026 World Cup,” Erick Thohir emphasized.
According to Indonesian media, this is no different from a “thrust” against coach Shin Tae-yong. Under Erick Thohir, PSSI has promoted the naturalization of players, contributing greatly to the transformation of the Indonesian team.
Shin Tae-yong and his team played very well in the first three matches, drawing with Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bahrain. However, in the match against China, Indonesia lost 1-2, even though they were confident that they would score points or even win.
This result dealt a heavy blow to Indonesia's ambition to enter the Top 4. If they want to continue to maintain their hope of competing for a place in the Top 4 in Group C, Indonesia needs to score points in 2 matches in November 2024.
This goal is not easy to achieve. The Japanese team is leading the group, in very good form with many stars playing in Europe. Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia team has just changed coach, giving the opportunity to Herve Renard - the man who helped them qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Indonesian media cited worrying statistics for Mr. Shin Tae-yong, when facing Herve Renard in the upcoming match. In the meeting in 2017, Herve Renard - who was leading the Moroccan team at that time - defeated Shin Tae-yong's South Korean team with a score of 3-1.
