Indonesian newspaper: 'Winning tickets to the 2026 World Cup is not a dream'
Indonesia met Brunei in the first qualifying round, and CNN Indonesian newspaper said that the home team would easily advance to the second qualifying round. In the last four confrontations, Indonesia won all of Brunei, scoring 18 goals and not conceding.
If they beat Brunei, Indonesia (place 150 FIFA) will enter Group F in the second qualifying round, along with the teams Iraq (80), Vietnam (95) and the Philippines (135). "These opponents are not so strong," writes author Muhammad Ikhwanuddi. "Therefore, the opportunity to go on to the third round is open to Indonesia."
According to Ikhwanuddi, Vietnam has just changed the coach, and Philippe Troussier's ability has not been evaluated with the team. The Philippines has recently faced difficulties in men's football, despite having a higher FIFA ranking than Indonesia. "If it plays well in the first two qualifying rounds, the opportunity for Indonesia to enter the third qualifying round and win tickets to the World Cup for the first time is not a dream in the middle of the day," this reporter added.
Indonesia participated in the 1938 World Cup, but then they participated as a colony of the Netherlands. Since independence, Indonesia has not reached the final qualifying round of the Asian World Cup.
Indonesia has never won against Iraq, and has lost all of its last five matches against this opponent. They have the same head-to-head stats as Vietnam, with 8 wins, 8 losses and 11 draws. Compared to the Philippines, Indonesia is superior with 20 wins, four draws and only one defeat.
Coach Shin Tae-yong has just extended his contract with Indonesia until June 2024. He will lead the team to two first qualifying matches against Brunei in October 2023, and two qualifying matches. "From now on, please cheer for Indonesia for the goal of attending the World Cup," the Korean leader wrote on his personal page.
To prepare for the 2024 Asian Cup and 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the President of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) Erick Thohir contacted the world's top teams to play friendly matches, such as Germany, Portugal, Brazil or Spain. He said Indonesia is still waiting for the answers of these teams. On June 19, they just played a friendly with the world number one Argentina team and lost 0-2, although Lionel Messi and Angel di Maria were absent.
The second qualifying round consists of 36 teams, divided into nine groups of four teams each. The teams in the group play a round-robin round-robin, with the top two teams in each group going to advance to the third qualifying round. The third qualifying round will determine six places in the World Cup, with two remaining in the fourth qualifying round. Finally, the one remaining representative will fight for tickets with a team in another continent, to find 8.5 places for Asia at the 2026 World Cup.
