Garuda's Wings Don't Break

The key for the Indonesian national team to bring home historic points from Japan's home ground on Tuesday (10/6/2025) at 17:35 WIB, at the Suita City Football Stadium in Osaka Prefecture, is to win the duels on the flanks. Without that, a flood of goals is likely to occur against the "Garuda" squad.

Japan's main formation during the qualification for the 2026 World Cup is 3-4-2-1. Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu employs a very loose pattern, instead of playing tightly as utilized by other teams with attacking philosophies.

At least, Japan has three players operating on each wing. The two center-backs on the left and right sides move wider within the high defensive line.

The placement of two center-backs helps the wing midfielders to be more composed in facing the opponent's positive transitions. For the two attacking midfielders behind the striker, they move with a high degree of freedom. Not only do they spread out, but the two players in that position also support the two central midfielders when the opponent crowds players in the center of the game.

In the average movement of Japanese players against Australia, two debutant players in the wing midfielder position, namely Kota Tawaratsumida and Yu Hirakawa, actively disrupted the opponent's defense with movements on the outer side of the field. Both created one opportunity each.

The quality of Tawaratsumida and Hirakawa set Japan apart as they failed to score a single goal against Australia, despite being far more dominant in attack with 69 percent possession, 13 shots, and eight corner kicks. Certainly, the final result would have been different if two of Japan's key players, such as Kaoru Mitoma and Ritsu Doan, had occupied those positions in Perth, Australia.

From the match against China, the alarm for Indonesia's defense on the flanks has been sounded. Yakob Sayuri and Calvin Verdonk, who occupy the two wing positions, recorded the highest number of ball losses among other players.

Yakob, a player from Malut United, recorded 13 instances of losing ball possession. Meanwhile, Calvin, who showcased an attractive performance with his interceptions and dribbling, recorded the highest number of ball possession losses during his participation in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The wingback from NEC Nijmegen experienced 22 ball losses. In his previous eight appearances, Calvin's record of ball losses was only in single digits.

Fortunately, the loss of the ball occurred during the match against China, which actually has a level of play below that of Indonesia. Despite a less than impressive performance from the winger, China could only produce five shots, with just one on target.

A different fate would certainly occur if the opponents faced by Indonesia were teams with better player capabilities, such as Japan, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. In addition to being relentlessly attacked, Indonesia's goalkeeper, Emil Audero, would be very busy organizing his teammates in front of him and fending off shots from opposing players.

Indonesia's hope to anticipate the aggressive play of Japan's wingers lies in the presence of the new Borussia Moenchengladbach wing-back, Kevin Diks, on the right side. After only playing in the middle of the second half against China, Kevin is fit enough to play a full match in Suita.

In the first match at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, November 2024, when Kevin left the field due to injury, Indonesia conceded three goals. For 40 minutes, Kevin played, and the Garuda squad only conceded through an own goal by center-back Justin Hubner.

Kevin's aggressiveness in pressing the Japanese winger, Mitoma at that time, closed one of Japan's attack options. Mitoma's individual actions were also closed. Moreover, Kevin was assisted by Yakob who also routinely helped the defense and dared to do physical duels.

Kevin's replacement at that time, Sandy Walsh, failed to replicate Kevin's impressive performance. Japan's second goal originated from a gap on the right side of Indonesia's defense. Then, two goals in the second half came as a result of defensive lapses on the left side.

Regardless of the need to anticipate Japan's strength, Indonesia already has a better squad composition compared to the first match. This improvement is evident in the midfield due to the presence of Joey Pelupessy and forward Ole Romeny.

Joey will be a crucial defensive midfielder to thwart Japan's attacks before the ball reaches the trio of central defenders. Joey's abilities are certainly superior to those of Nathan Tjoe-A-On, who partnered with Thom Haye in the first match in Jakarta.

According to Joey, playing against Japan has energized the Indonesian squad. He emphasized that the Garuda team is undaunted in facing Japan, which holds the top position in Group C and has secured its place as one of the Asian representatives in the 2026 World Cup.

"We respect Japan, but I believe we have the ability to achieve a good result," said Joey at a press conference ahead of the match, Monday (9/6/2025).

Ole, with three goals in three consecutive matches, poses a threat to Japan's defense, which is not supported by its best players, such as Ko Itakura and Hiroki Ito, who were not called up for the match in June.

The Oxford United player has the opportunity to provide a better disruption compared to Ragnar Oratmangoen, who was deployed as the sole striker when Indonesia suffered a 0-4 defeat. In that match, Ragnar, who is absent this time due to injury, could only produce one shot.

Moriyasu does not want his players to underestimate Indonesia. According to Moriyasu, Indonesia possesses a different strength compared to when they faced them in the first match in Jakarta.

"They are a new team under the guidance of a new coach. I have the impression that Indonesia has made improvements in recent years, one of which is through their (naturalization) regulations," said Moriyasu, who will play his 92nd game with the Japanese national team when hosting Indonesia.

Nothing is impossible, Garuda!