The Indonesian national team is entering the final preparation phase for the ASEAN Cup 2026 under the guidance of coach John Herdman. After nearly two weeks of training at the Bali United training center, the national team list has been shortened from 47 to about half. The coaching staff applies a high-intensity training plan to help players reach their best condition before the opening day of the tournament.
Midfielder Thom Haye said that the whole team is clearly aware of the pressure as well as the expectations of fans in the journey to conquer the first Southeast Asian title.
We came here to compete for the championship. We are not afraid to talk about that goal because many players have experience playing in big matches, including finals. We understand the history of the team and are all determined to change that," Thom Haye shared.
Indonesia is the most successful team in the region but has never won the Southeast Asian Championship. The archipelago team has reached the final six times but all failed. Meanwhile, Thailand holds the record with 7 championships, Vietnam has 3 championships, Singapore won 4 titles and Malaysia once won the championship.
At ASEAN Cup 2026, Indonesia is in Group A with defending champion Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Timor-Leste. Although Vietnam is considered a direct competitor for the top spot in the group, Thom Haye believes that the whole team does not want to think too far.
As the coach said, if we want to achieve the goal, we must focus on each match. The most important thing at this time is our own preparation," the midfielder born in 1995 emphasized.
In recent encounters, Indonesia and Vietnam have created a noteworthy competition. The Indonesian national team with many Dutch-born players has defeated Vietnam in both legs of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia. However, at the ASEAN Cup 2024, the island nation team used U21 forces and lost to Vietnam 0-1 in the group stage.
At ASEAN Cup 2026, Indonesia does not have the full strongest force because the tournament takes place at the same time as many European clubs prepare for the new season. However, coach John Herdman still owns many quality naturalized and mixed-race players such as Thom Haye, Sandy Walsh, Jordi Amat, Justin Hubner, Shayne Pattynama, Marc Klok, Ivar Jenner, Ragnar Oratmangoen and Rafael Struick. Besides, there are domestic players who grew up from the U23 generation who reached the semi-finals of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship such as Rizky Ridho, Pratama Arhan, Witan Sulaeman, Marselino Ferdinan and Ramadhan Sananta.
According to the plan, Indonesia will have a practice match with Bali United before entering the ASEAN Cup 2026 campaign. Coach John Herdman's team will miss the opening match on July 24, then successively meet Cambodia (July 27), Timor-Leste (July 31), Vietnam (August 3) and Singapore (August 7).
