The 2-1 defeat against China on Tuesday put Indonesia in fifth place of the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian Group C qualifiers with three points.
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Thematic photo of a soccer ball. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
October 17, 2024
JAKARTA – A2-1 defeat against China in the third round of the World Cup Asian qualifier has put a dent in Indonesia’s hopes of competing in the world’s biggest soccer tournament for the first time in nearly a century.
Indonesia scored a goal four minutes before the end of normal time in the match held at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium in Qingdao, China, on Tuesday evening. But it was not enough to secure a win against China, which scored two goals in the first half.
For Tuesday’s game, Indonesia’s head coach Shin Tae-yong made four changes to Indonesia’s starting XI, as reported by Antara.
Defenders Shayne Pattynama and Asnawi Mangkualam, as well as midfielders Nathan Tjoe-A-On and Witan Sulaeman played from the first minute. They replaced defender Jordi Amat who suffered from an injury during a game against Bahrain on Thursday, and Sandy Walsh, Thom Haye and Malik Risaldi.
China, which relied on set pieces and fast-paced counter attacks, scored the first goal in the 21st minute.
Defender Jay tried to secure a ball from a China set-piece, but Jiang Shenglong squeezed and cut the ball back to teammate Behram Abduweli. The Uyghur striker volleyed the ball home from close range into Indonesian goalkeeper Maarten Paes’ goal.
Indonesia tried to force its way back into the tie with several efforts, including midfielder Ivar Jenner’s long-range effort during the 35th minute.
But with a minute left in the first half, Chinese defender Gao Zhunyi sent a through-pass to Zhang Yuning who sent the ball into Maarten’s bottom right corner, doubling the Chinese team’s lead.
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Indonesia’s coach Shin subbed defenders Shayne and Mees Hilgers, as well as Witan, with Rizky Ridho, Thom and Marselino Ferdinan and moved midfielder Nathan from center to left.
The substitutions helped the Indonesian team to take back some control of the game but without any chances at goal.
Shin made his final substitutions in the 86th minute by putting on leftfield defender Pratama Arhan and Malik to replace Asnawi Mangkualam and Ivar.
Pratama had a quick impact on the game, with a long throw-in in the 86th minute, which sent the ball to 29-year-old midfielder Thom, who sent the ball home to score Indonesia’s only goal of the match.
China defended its lead until the end of nine minutes of stoppage time, sending the home team into its first victory in the third round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers. The East Asian team previously had three defeats in a row against Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s defeat was the first for the team in Group C of the Asian qualifiers, after holding Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bahrain to three draws in a row.
The result of Tuesday’s match, however, did not change Group C’s standing. Indonesia remains in fifth place with a goal difference of -1 against China in sixth place with a goal difference of -9.
Despite the defeat, Coach Shin applauded the players for putting in their best performance.
“Both China and Indonesia showed their guts to win the game, but China’s effort was much more than ours,” the 54-year-old South Korean coach said after the match as quoted from a statement issued by the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI).
He vowed that the Indonesian national soccer team would prepare better for the next match against Japan at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Main Stadium in Jakarta on Nov. 15.
Read also: Indonesia ‘closer to dream’ of World Cup
PSSI chair Erick Thohir posted on Instagram on Tuesday evening that he would evaluate the team’s performance after the players returned home from China, while calling for fans to keep supporting the national team.
Speaking to reporters in Medan, North Sumatra, on Wednesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said appreciated the national team’s effort and that winning and losing were just part of the game.
“The most important thing is to keep the spirit up because we still have a big chance to get into the next round,” the President said.
The two other matches in Group C, Japan versus Australia and Saudi against Bahrain, ended in draws. Japan, whose three-win streak ended on Tuesday, tops the group table with 10 points, followed by Australia with five.
The top-two teams from each group from this round of qualifiers will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Teams in third and fourth place, meanwhile, will advance to the fourth round of qualifiers
