Southeast Asian newspapers comment on Indonesia's shattered World Cup dream

(Dan Tri) - The 0-1 loss to Iraq this morning (October 12) officially ended Indonesia's dream of participating in the 2026 World Cup. Southeast Asian media commented on this.

Thailand's Siam Sport newspaper wrote: "The Indonesian team has been officially eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. They suffered a 0-1 defeat to the Iraqi team, their opponent in the final match of Group B of the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia."

“Indonesia started the qualifying round as strong candidates. They were the only remaining representative of Southeast Asian football in the fourth qualifying round of the Asian zone. However, the loss to Iraq was Indonesia’s second consecutive defeat at this stage. That led to their elimination,” Siam Sport added.

Indonesia (red shirt) stopped before the Iraqi team (Photo: Reuters).

Contrary to expectations, against the strongest teams in Asia, including Saudi Arabia in the previous round and Iraq in this round, Indonesia was completely outclassed. The naturalized European players of the team from the archipelago country were stuck in finding a way into the opponent's goal.

Thailand's leading sports daily described Iraq's victory over Indonesia this morning: "Former Manchester United (England) youngster Zidane Iqbal scored the decisive goal in the match."

“The goal was scored in the 76th minute, Zidane Iqbal dribbled the ball in Indonesia’s penalty area, before he shot the ball dangerously. Indonesian goalkeeper Maarten Paes had no chance to block this shot”, still the lines written in Siam Sport.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's New Straits Times commented: "The Iraqi team won 1-0 against Indonesia in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) early this morning, to maintain hope of participating in the World Cup for the first time since 1986."

Indonesia's dream of participating in the 2026 World Cup was shattered in the hands of coach Patrick Kluivert (Photo: AFC).

“The Indonesian team, coached by Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), was eliminated by a goal from Zidane Iqbal of Iraq, a former midfielder of Manchester United, currently playing for Utrecht (Netherlands),” the New Straits Times added.

Indonesia has prepared very carefully for the dream of participating in the 2026 World Cup. The team of the archipelago country has naturalized a series of players of Dutch origin, and at the same time used the core squad of these players in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

A famous Dutch coach, Patrick Kluivert, was also brought to Indonesia to replace Shin Tae Yong (a Korean). The greater the desire to participate in the World Cup, the more angry the Indonesian football community and fans became when this dream slipped out of their reach.

That was the reason for the tension at the end of the match between Iraq and Indonesia this morning. New Straits Times described: "Tensions broke out when the final whistle blew, with Indonesian fans throwing water bottles onto the field to protest the referee's decisions."

"Iraq's Zaid Tahseen was sent off for picking up a second yellow card in the ninth minute of injury time in the second half. However, the important thing was that the West Asian team secured the victory against Patrick Kluivert's team, who also had chances in the match, but the Indonesian players missed them," the New Straits Times affirmed.

On October 14, Iraq will play Saudi Arabia to compete for the top spot in Group B. The winner of this match will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the loser will continue to the 5th qualifying round of the Asian region.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-dong-nam-a-binh-luan-ve-giac-mo-world-cup-tan-vo-cua-tuyen-indonesia-20251012160000910.htm