Facing Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the Indonesian National Team Faces Twin Finals in the Fourth Round

KUALA LUMPUR, THURSDAY — The results of the draw for the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification placed Indonesia in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The qualification format, which employs a centralized host system, means that the matches against Saudi Arabia and Iraq will feel like twin finals for Indonesia.

Iraq is certainly a tough opponent to beat, while the “Garuda” team should not underestimate the new face of Saudi Arabia.

The hopes of the Indonesian national team manager, Sumardji, regarding potential opponents in the fourth round were only partially fulfilled. He initially hoped that Indonesia could face Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rather than Iraq and Qatar.

The reason is that Indonesia has a good record of meetings with Saudi in the third round. From two home and away matches, Indonesia held Saudi to a 1-1 draw at their home ground. Meanwhile, when hosting Saudi, the Garuda team successfully secured full points with a 2-0 victory in Jakarta.

The UAE was chosen because Indonesia has consistently failed to defeat Iraq during their encounters in the second round. In the first match at Iraq's home ground, Indonesia lost 1-5. Indonesia again lost 0-2 when hosting Iraq in the second match.

Thus, the results of this draw are akin to only fulfilling half of Indonesia's hopes. However, despite having a better record in their encounters, Indonesia should remain cautious considering Saudi Arabia's transformation under the guidance of Herve Renard. After losing to Indonesia, Saudi Arabia's performance graph has significantly improved, managing to draw with Japan and defeating China.

The Saudi players have a rather unique emotional bond with Renard. When they lost to Indonesia, he had not yet had enough time to build the team after being reappointed to replace Roberto Mancini. Now, after eight months have passed, Renard is beginning to find the right strategy for his team.

Meanwhile, Iraq remains a difficult puzzle for Indonesia to solve. However, it is important to remember that Indonesia's defeat to Iraq occurred while still under the management of Shin Tae-yong.

In addition, the strength of the "Garuda" team at that time was not like it is now, which has been further reinforced by naturalized players such as Ole Romeny, Kevin Diks, Mees Hilgers, and Maarten Paes.

The position of the team's captain has also changed from Shin to Patrick Kluivert. The Indonesian football public hopes that Kluivert has an effective strategy to defeat Iraq.

"My plan is to prepare the team very well. Then we will analyze Saudi Arabia and Iraq specifically, looking at their playing systems, as well as preparing our own playing system to face them. We want to perform as competitively as possible in order to achieve the best results," said Kluivert, who attended the draw process at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday (17/7/2025).

According to Kluivert, the results of any draw will still pit Indonesia against strong opponents. Therefore, for him, there are no easy opponents in the fourth round. Kluivert will soon study the games of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He has been given a period of 2.5 months to prepare the team.

The fourth round of the World Cup Qualifiers will take place from October 8 to 14, 2025. Unlike the third round, which used a home-and-away system, this time the matches will be held at a centralized location with a round robin system.

Each team will only meet once, meaning Indonesia will face Iraq and Saudi Arabia as if they were finals.

A draw does not necessarily secure Indonesia a spot in the World Cup, let alone a loss. Therefore, securing full points is the only option for the Garuda team.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia benefit from being appointed as hosts. Qatar is hosting Group A, which includes the UAE and Oman. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is the host of Group B.

This means that Indonesia bears the heavy responsibility of defeating Saudi in front of its supporters. Since the first meeting of the two teams in 1981, Indonesia has never once defeated Saudi on its home ground.

Only the group winners qualify directly for the main draw of the World Cup. The runners-up advance to the fifth round, where they will face each other in a home-and-away format in November 2025. The winners of this fifth round will represent Asia in an inter-confederation playoff.