The spirit of Indonesia players is flying high after drawing 1-1 against Saudi Arabia and 0-0 against Australia in the first two games in September. However, Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) president and billionaire Erick Thohir wants the players to maintain their underdog mindset when they play Bahrain on Oct. 10 and China on the 15th.
“People should not think that Indonesia are on par with the next two opponents,” Thohir said on PSSI website. “We are still the underdogs, so we only aim to earn points against Bahrain and China.”
Before the third qualifying round started, Thohir and PSSI set a target of 15 points after 10 matches in Group C, and they have already got two points. Bahrain and China are considered to be two direct competitors with Indonesia for the third and fourth places to enter the fourth qualifying round. Coach Shin Tae-yong and the team need to achieve favorable results even though they have to play far from home in October, before facing Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia in the next three games.
Indonesia’s confidence is reinforced with the latest addition of naturalized players from the Netherlands, including center-back Mees Hilgers (Twente FC) and forward-winger Eliano Reijnders (PEC Zwolle). Of the 27 names called up by coach Shin this time, 13 of them are naturalized, which is a new record.
Since 2000, Indonesia have faced Bahrain four times and only won once (2-1 in the group stage of the 2007 Asian Cup). They had previously lost 1-3 in the 2004 Asian Cup, then 0-2 and 0-10 in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Bola described the latter defeat as “a bitter memory in the dark period of Indonesian football”.
Indonesia team leader Kombes Pol Sumardji was not concerned with history, stressing that the team are in a different position now.
“If the opponent underestimates us, it’s fine,” Sumardji told She was. “Indonesia are willing to prove that we are not as weak as before.”
Indonesia have played China 13 times since 1980, with two wins, two draws and nine losses. Their last victory over China was in 1987 at the King’s Cup in Thailand, while the last draw was in the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers. Indonesia have been significantly more impressive than their opponent at present. China lost 0-7 to Japan in their opening match and 1-2 to Saudi Arabia at home despite playing with more men from the 19th minute.
Football fans on Chinese social media platform Sina have protested against Hilgers and Reijnders playing for Indonesia. They said Indonesia naturalized these players too quickly as they have not even taken their oath in the country, but instead did that in the Netherlands. However, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Indonesia said these were just the perspective of fans, not the Chinese Football Association.
“This is just psychological warfare, not an official statement,” Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo told Republic. “FIFA has also agreed to let the two players represent Indonesia.”
Indonesia are currently fourth in group C with two points, one behind Bahrain. If they beat both Bahrain and China in the upcoming round, they will become the first Southeast Asian team to have two wins in the third round of World Cup qualifiers and break the record for points won.
Vietnam are the first Southeast Asian team to win in the third qualifying round when they beat China 3-1 in 2021. The team finished at the bottom of group B with four points. Thailand finished bottom twice in the third round of qualifiers in 2002 and 2018, with four and two points respectively, but failed to get a win.
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