While most of Southeast Asia’s representatives in the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup suffered a defeat on Tuesday, one team not only managed to secure a very important victory, but also issued a statement of intent to that effect.
Indonesia, who finished last year at the bottom of their organisation with just one point from 8 starts, are now firmly in the fight to move to the next level after completing the double against regional rivals Vietnam in the space of six days.
It should be noted that although their last 1-0 triumph last Thursday came at home, this recent maximum victory came in the hostile atmosphere of Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium, and it was an even more emphatic demonstration when the Indonesians won. 3-0, a result that also led to the swift sacking of coach Philippe Troussier by Vietnam.
Merah Putih sent a shout out to first-half goals from Jay Idzes and Ragnar Oratmangoen, both of whom were born in the Netherlands but of Indonesian descent and only retired from foreign football in this window, before a late goal from rising star Ramadhan Sananta sealed it all. win. win.
The result means Indonesia now comfortably sit second in Group F, five points behind leaders Iraq, but with a practical four-point gap between them and Vietnam.
Even if the Indonesians lose their next match against Iraq on June 6, their fate remains in their own hands and a win over the Philippines in the final of their crusade would be enough to seal their advancement to the next level of World Cup qualifying. as well as an automatic berth in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
This latest pair of victories illustrates the South Korean team’s steady rise under South Korean coach Shin Tae-Yong, who, when appointed in early 2020, was widely known for taking the lead of a country full of potential but with an astonishing habit of underperforming when it mattered most.
Before starting this year, Indonesia had gone six games without a win against Vietnam since 2016, but have now won three in a row against their ASEAN counterparts.
The first of these, in January, was a result that allowed them to get past the round of 16 of the Asian Cup for the first time.
In addition to this feat, Indonesia also twice reached the round of 16 of the AFF Championship, won their first gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games since the men’s football festival (an age-group tournament) and reached the round of 16 of the Asian Games.
Indonesia still have a long way to go before they can claim to be the leaders of the region, but it looks like they have the most productive chance of reaching the next level of Asian qualifying, especially after a disappointing night for Southeast Asian football. Tuesday. .
Thailand, who have been widely regarded as the most productive team in ASEAN along with Vietnam in recent times, lost 3-0 at home to South Korea, while Singapore may not build on an impressive 2-2 draw with China last week after losing to South Korea. . same opponent 4-1: produced another encouraging feature under new coach Tsutomu Ogura.
Third and fourth respectively in Group C, as things stand, neither team is qualified for World Cup qualifying.
Meanwhile, after a brilliant start that saw them beat Kyrgyz Republic and Chinese Taipei, back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Oman (albeit with little embarrassing effect) meant Malaysia have dropped to third in Group D.
Elsewhere, a true division of elegance was evident when the Philippines were beaten 5-0 by Iraq, while Myanmar suffered a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Syria.
Again, those two big losses were met with undeniably strong opposition, but the margins of defeat paint a fairly fair picture of Southeast Asia.
On an unforgettable night for the region, Indonesia deserves to be congratulated for what it did, even if it faced one of its own.