Friday, June 28, 2024
Indonesia's Path to 2026 World Cup Brings Back Bitter Memory
05/09/24 Saudi Arabia v Indonesia
10/09/24 Indonesia v Australia
10/10/24 Bahrain v Indonesia
15/10/24 China v Indonesia
14/11/24 Indonesia v Saudi Arabia
19/11/24 Indonesia v Japan
20/03/25 Australia v Indonesia
25/03/25 Indonesia v Bahrain
05/06/25 Indonesia v China
10/06/25 Japan v Indonesia
Indonesia's tortuous road to the 2026 World Cup reaches its 3rd Round stage in September after the draw today revealed who the Garuda would have to come up against to keep their hopes alive.
In the 2nd Round, Indonesia comfortably brushed aside ASEAN neighbours Vitenam and the Philippines but came unstuck against Iraq - not for the first time a side has come out second best against a Middle Eastern side.
No local rivals this time round and at first glance you'd think Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia will battle it out for the top two places which will see them heading west in '26. The nations which finish 3rd and 4th will go on to the 4th Round of qualifying and with the best will in the world, Indonesia's route lies via a 4th place finish.
So realistically, Indonesia will be vying for that 4th spot with China and Bahrain - one country with more than a billion people and another with a few hundred thousand. You never know what you're gonna get with the Chinese but when it comes to the minnows from the Gulf, Indonesia will only have to check the history books.
Back in 2007 Indonesia won their first ever game at the AFC Asian Cup when they defeated Bahrain 2-1 at Bung Karno Stadium. But that game is overshadowed by a qualifier in 2012 for the 2014 World Cup in Manama. Without going into too much detail, Bahrain needed to win by at least nine clear goals and Qatar to drop points to have a chance of reaching the next stage.
Indonesia conceded a penalty on three minutes and their goalie was sent off! They went on to concede a further three spot kicks and would lose the game 10-0. Sadly for Bahrain, their Gulf rivals showed little in the way of Arab love by drawing their game so the thrashing was for nowt. The game itself, or rather the result, has gone into Asian football folklore and even has its own Wiki page in case anyone forgets!
FIFA launched an inquiry in to the game but I have no idea how that panned out.
Back to the present, when the draw was made on Thursday and you could see Bahrain would host Indonesia on the 10th of the 10th you could hear the groans from Aceh to Papua. They'll be hoping history won't be repeating itself!
# posted by Me @ 2:12 AM 
