The Vietnamese team has just received positive information ahead of the ASEAN Cup 2026 when coach John Herdman confirmed that the Indonesian team will prioritize using domestic players in the regional tournament taking place in July.
According to the Canadian strategist, the ASEAN Cup does not belong to the FIFA Days tournament system. Therefore, clubs in Europe are not obligated to release players for the national team, causing Indonesia many difficulties in summoning naturalized players playing abroad.
Sharing with the media, Mr. Herdman said that the possibility of players playing football in Europe participating in the ASEAN Cup is not high due to commitments with their managing clubs. The 50-year-old coach also emphasized that the priority goal of Indonesian football today is long-term campaigns such as the World Cup and Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
In recent years, Indonesia has emerged as a new force in Southeast Asian football thanks to the wave of naturalizing players of Indonesian origin playing in Europe. The appearance of many quality faces has helped the archipelago team raise their strength and create no small difficulties for opponents in the region.
However, if they cannot call up the strongest force at ASEAN Cup 2026, Indonesia's competitiveness is forecast to decrease significantly. This is seen as an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to increase their advantage in the race to win tickets to the next round as well as towards the goal of successfully defending the Southeast Asian championship.
Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnamese team is in the process of rejuvenating its force and maintaining professional stability. The fact that one of the direct competitors does not have the strongest squad will help the team have more favorable conditions to complete the goal at ASEAN Cup 2026.
However, experts believe that the Vietnamese team still needs to maintain high concentration because Indonesia possesses many quality young players and is always a formidable opponent in regional tournaments.
