The Long and Winding Road to the World Cup

The 2026 World Cup opens up a wide opportunity for teams that have been spectators at the finals to experience the thrill of football's greatest stage. FIFA has changed the tournament format to 48 teams for the first time, up from 32. The additional 16-team quota has raised hopes in each confederation to join the three hosts who qualified directly: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Indonesia, which is a member of the AFC, where FIFA has increased the quota by four teams, a 100 percent increase from before, is also striving hard to secure a World Cup ticket for the first time in the PSSI era. The players from this country did indeed participate in the World Cup finals in 1938. However, that was during the Dutch East Indies era, not Indonesia, which gained independence on August 17, 1945.

Although it was not yet called the Indonesian national team, the performance of some of the nation's children in France 87 years ago gave hope of bringing the Red and White to the world football stage. Currently, Rizky Ridho and his teammates are shouldering the hopes of more than 250 million Indonesian citizens to secure a ticket to the World Cup.

The Garuda squad will face two crucial matches against Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the fourth round of qualifications. Both matches will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The match against Saudi Arabia will be held on Thursday (9/10/2025) starting at 00:15 WIB, and the match against Iraq will kick off on Sunday (12/10/2025) at 02:30 WIB. These two matches are akin to finals, as they will determine the ticket to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Indonesia reached this stage after a long and winding struggle, starting with a sweet victory of 6-0 against Brunei Darussalam at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in the first match of the first round qualifiers on October 12, 2023. In the second match at Brunei's home ground, Indonesia again won by half a dozen goals without reply. Ramadhan Sananta and Dimas Drajat were the top scorers throughout the qualifiers, each netting three goals.

That sweet beginning led Indonesia, still under the guidance of Shi Tae-yong, to advance to the second round. The challenges became increasingly difficult, underscored by a 1-5 defeat to Iraq in the first match of Group F, followed by a 1-1 draw against the Philippines in the second match.

Indonesia finally qualified for the third round thanks to two wins against Vietnam, as well as beating the Philippines 2-0 at the GBK Stadium in the final match of Group F on June 11, 2024. Indonesia qualified as the group runner-up, collecting 10 points.

The step towards the third round ignites hope for quickly securing a ticket to the final round. However, the challenge is very tough, as Indonesia is grouped in Group C alongside World Cup regulars Japan and Austria, as well as the strong team from Saudi Arabia.

The scenario of how Indonesia could advance has been widely discussed on social media. Football enthusiasts in the country have unleashed their imaginations, creating a frenzy that pumps adrenaline. The first two matches, against Saudi Arabia and Australia, which ended in draws, further ignited the spirit and boosted hopes to soaring heights.

However, that hope quickly turned to anger after the draw against Bahrain, who scored a 2-2 equalizer in the 90+9 minute. Omani referee Ahmed Al-Kaf became the target of angry Indonesian netizens for what they deemed unfair leadership.

This moment was then followed by two disappointing results, losing 1-2 to China and being defeated 0-4 by Japan. These two losses became a hot topic, leading to the emergence of two factions: supporters of Shin Tae-yong and a group that wants the South Korean coach to be dismissed.

The contest off the field continues to heat up, even the 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia thanks to goals scored by Marselino Ferdinan could not quell the pro and con surrounding Shin Tae-yong.

The uproar resulted in the dismissal of Shin, and PSSI appointed Patrick Kluivert as the coach of the Indonesian national team. The credibility of the former Dutch football star has come under scrutiny, and it intensified following a crushing 1-5 defeat at home to Australia in his debut match leading the Garuda squad.

Kluivert then led Indonesia to a narrow victory, 1-0, against China and Bahrain. The win was somewhat relieving, but it was soon overshadowed as Indonesia was defeated 6-0 by the Blue Samurai in the final match of the third round on June 10, 2025.

The third round of the 2026 World Cup qualification in the AFC zone has seen Japan and Australia qualify for the final round of the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, Indonesia advanced to the fourth round alongside Saudi Arabia. In the draw for the fourth round, Indonesia was placed in Group B along with Iraq and Saudi Arabia, while Group A consists of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.

The two group winners will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals. The two second-placed teams in each group will advance to the fifth qualifying round. They will compete in two home-and-away legs for an inter-confederation playoff spot.

The playoffs will take place in Mexico, serving as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup. Currently, matches are expected to take place at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey and the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara. The qualifying period is March 23-31, 2026.

The playoffs feature the winners of the fifth round of the AFC zone, the winners of the second round of the CAF zone, the two runners-up of the third round of the Concacaf zone, the seventh-placed team from Conmebol, and the second-placed team from the third round of the OFC zone. Bolivia will represent Conmebol, and New Caledonia will represent Oceania (OFC).

The six teams that qualify for the playoffs will use two sets of tournaments with a semifinal and final format, each containing three teams. The teams will be grouped based on FIFA rankings, with the two seeded teams—the two highest-ranked teams among the six playoff teams—qualifying directly for the playoff final. The four unseeded teams will play one match in the semifinals in each set.

The semifinal winners will face the seeded teams awaiting them in the final. The two final winners will earn a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Currently, of the 48-team quota in the final round, 15 teams have qualified, plus three host teams. So, of the 48-team quota, there are still 30 tickets up for grabs, including two inter-confederation playoff tickets.

Currently, 18 teams that have qualified are three host teams, namely Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the AFC zone, there are Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Jordan, South Korea, and Japan. In the CAF or African zone, there are two teams that have qualified, namely Morocco and Tunisia. In the Conmebol zone, there are six World Cup regulars, namely Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Meanwhile, in the OFC zone, the team that has qualified is New Zealand.

The competition in the play-off round is very tough, so Indonesia needs to fight tooth and nail in the fourth round of the 2026 AFC World Cup qualifiers to become the champion of Group B. The challenge is not easy, but it is not impossible.

Indonesia's record against Iraq is indeed not favorable; out of the last nine encounters, Indonesia has lost eight times and drawn once. Meanwhile, in 14 meetings with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia has only won once, drawn twice, and lost 12 times. Hopefully, in the match early Thursday morning, Jay Idzes and his teammates will achieve victory.