1 month ago
50
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - General Chair of the Football Association of Indonesia, Erick Thohir, appreciates the performance of the Indonesian National Team after achieving a 2-0 victory against Saudi Arabia in the sixth match of Group C in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in the Asian zone held at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
"Congratulations to all players, coaching staff, and officials on the first crucial victory for Indonesia towards the World Cup. I am proud of the hard work of the players who diligently earned points and kept Indonesia's chances alive for qualification," said Erick Thohir in a written statement.
The Garuda team secured a crucial victory with two goals scored by Marselino Ferdinan in the 32nd and 57th minutes. This victory is significant as it marks Indonesia's first win and maintains hope for advancing to the next round.
Previously, after Indonesia suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat against Japan on Friday, November 15, Erick issued an ultimatum to resign from his position at PSSI if the players and coaches did not support and strive to their maximum for the success of the 2026 World Cup qualification project.
In the dressing room, the former President of Inter Milan expressed his readiness to step down from his position as the General Chair of PSSI if the coach and players no longer showed confidence in the significant project being built for the national team.
"After losing to Japan, I saw the players willing to rise, and that was demonstrated in the match today. This is a valuable asset for the upcoming qualifying matches next year. Hopefully, we are more prepared," said Erick.
This victory ends Indonesia's streak of poor results in the last five matches, where they could only manage three draws and suffered two losses.
With this first victory, under the guidance of Shin Tae-yong, the team now ranks third in Group C with a total of six points, having a better goal difference than Australia, who also has six points in second place.
Meanwhile, Japan, who secured full three points against China at home, comfortably tops the standings with a total of 16 points.
Two Crucial Home Matches
Erick Thohir emphasized the significance of the victory against Saudi Arabia. "Yes, it is very important. I mentioned that to get points, I saw we were third with six points, Australia also with six points. But there will be a match between Australia and Bahrain later," said Erick after the match at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
"So, if we are in 3-4, I think we need to push because I said we still have two matches at our home where we need to get as many points as possible," he added.
Also serving as the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, he was satisfied with the performance of the national team against Saudi Arabia, using the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation this time.
"Playing with 3-5-2, we had chances, in the midfield we could control the ball well. That was a key to several effective counterattacks. This is one of the tactics or formations. Strategy becomes crucial as every team in this tough group always adjusts strategies and tactics," said Erick.
Despite the victory that boosted Indonesia to third place in the temporary Group C standings with six points, Erick emphasized that there would still be an overall evaluation of the national team.
"Yes, we need to ensure everything until March. So, we need to really calculate the players' conditions, whether there are injuries or not, because remember there is a transfer window in January, so some players need special attention," he explained.
"And as I always say, we need to have 2x11 (players). Justin (Hubner) received a red card, so he will not play in the next game. So, we need to add more with the situation of our players; hopefully, Mees (Hilgers) and (Kevin) Diks can recover and strengthen our defense," said the former President of Inter Milan.
Indonesia will play their seventh match in Group C of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers in Asia by visiting Australia on March 20 next year, before then flying to Saitama to face Japan on March 25.
Editor's Choice: Erick Thohir to Evaluate Indonesian National Team Thoroughly After Match Against Saudi Arabia
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
