On the afternoon of July 17, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held a draw for the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia. The result put the Indonesian team in Group B with 2 strong opponents, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
This is considered one of the most difficult groups. Both Iraq and Saudi Arabia have superior records and forces compared to Indonesia.
In the second qualifying round, Indonesia lost to Iraq in both matches, with scores of 1-5 and 0-2. For Saudi Arabia in the third qualifying round, Indonesia had a better result when they drew 1-1 in the first leg and won 2-0 in the second leg, but that did not ensure any advantage in the new qualifying round.
The 4th qualifying round is held in a round-robin format at 2 neutral locations. Group A matches take place in Qatar, while Group B matches in Saudi Arabia, meaning the national team has the home advantage.
The top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. The two second-placed teams will play the first and second leg of the play-off to compete for a place in the intercontinental play-off round.
The schedule of the 4th qualifying round takes place from October 8 to 14. During this time, Indonesia will have to solve the problem of the force when naturalized striker Ole Romeny suffered a serious injury in a recent friendly match, greatly affecting the team's attack.
