Unexpected incident, Indonesia angrily sends petition to AFC

(Dan Tri) - Kuwait's cancellation of the friendly match has disrupted Indonesia's preparations for the 4th qualifying round of the World Cup. This has disappointed the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) and led to it sending a petition to the AFC.

Recently, Kuwait surprised Indonesia by suddenly canceling a friendly match in September. The West Asian team's sudden withdrawal has made it difficult for Indonesia to find a replacement opponent. This has affected the preparation process for the 4th round of World Cup qualifiers of the archipelago team.

Indonesia angry after Kuwait suddenly canceled friendly matches (Photo: Getty).

PSSI President Erick Thohir said he did not yet know the specific reasons for Kuwait’s withdrawal. However, he affirmed that PSSI had sent a strong protest letter to Kuwait.

“At first, we could have thought negatively as if this was sabotage. But in fact, Kuwait has also withdrawn from some other tournaments. Maybe they have internal problems. I don’t want to speculate, but we have sent a strong protest note,” said the head of Indonesian football.

In response to the situation, PSSI said it would report the incident to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). “We will send an official report to the AFC. The problem here is that Kuwait has cancelled its participation, not only with us but also in a number of other tournaments. As for the specific internal reasons, I do not know yet,” Mr. Erick Thohir added.

Indonesia's preparations for the fourth round of World Cup qualifiers were affected (Photo: Getty).

Previously, PSSI announced Kuwait and Lebanon as Indonesia's two opponents in the September friendly series. The match schedule was even announced, and tickets were also opened for sale to fans.

Kuwait's sudden withdrawal forced PSSI to quickly find a replacement if it wanted to maintain its plan to play two matches in September. This was considered an important preparation step before Indonesia entered the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, where coach Patrick Kluivert and his team would face two strong opponents from the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bat-ngo-gap-bien-co-indonesia-noi-gian-gui-don-len-afc-20250826185030953.htm