Indonesian team leader confident of winning against Philippines

According to Mr. Sumardji, Indonesia has regained its spirit after the defeat against Iraq, to focus on defeating the Philippines in the second round of Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

*Philippines - Indonesia: 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 21, Hanoi time.

After losing 1-5 to Iraq in the West Asian city of Basra on the evening of November 16, Indonesia spent almost the next day traveling to the Philippines to prepare for the second match. They only arrived in Manila on the morning of November 18, and were tired after the long trip. But according to team leader Sumardji, Indonesia will recover both mentally and physically. "We all believe that the team will beat the Philippines," he said.

Mr. Sumardji in the melee between Thailand and Indonesia in the SEA Games men's football final in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 16, 2023. Photo: Hieu Luong — Mr. Sumardji in the melee between Thailand and Indonesia in the SEA Games men's football final in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 16, 2023. Photo: *Hieu Luong*

Mr. Sumardji is a senior officer of the Indonesian police, appointed as the head of the football team. He took Indonesia to Cambodia to participate in the 32nd SEA Games, where the team won the gold medal thanks to a victory over Thailand in the final. During that match, the two teams got into a fight, causing Mr. Sumardji to fall and lose his glasses.

This time, Mr. Sumardji was less fortunate, as the Indonesian team suffered their heaviest loss in two years in Iraq. They are also seven places behind the Philippines in FIFA rankings, and have to play away, but are still confident of taking three points from Manila. To achieve that goal, coach Shin Tae-yong said that the players need to limit mistakes like in the match in Basra. "Football has times of winning and times of losing," said the Korean coach. "Many factors affect us, such as the time difference and the players' jet lag. I reminded my students not to make mistakes like in the previous match."

The Philippines also did not hide their ambition to win three points against Indonesia. Coach Michael Weiss told the Inquirer newspaper: "Of course our goal is to win against Indonesia. Therefore, the Philippines will play more adventurously than when meeting Vietnam."

The Indonesian version of CNN also pointed out two weaknesses of the Philippines, which are the ability to defend on both sides, and the gap between the midfield and defense. This newspaper believes that Vietnam exploited the two weaknesses of the Philippines, scoring two goals in the opening match.

The Philippines lost 0-2 to Vietnam in the opening match of Group F, also at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Coach Shin said that the artificial turf of the Philippines is also a challenge for Indonesia, but he will let the players get used to it so that there will be no problems.

Hoang An

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