Romeny (right) returns from injury - Photo: BOLA
On the evening of October 8 (Saudi Arabia time), the Indonesian team will enter the first match of the 4th stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia. In this stage, 6 teams are divided into 2 groups, and only the top team in each group can get a direct ticket.
Confused by FIFA's choice
All the favorable conditions... turned their backs on Indonesia. FIFA's choice of Saudi Arabia as the host for Group B gave this team the greatest advantage. This decision by FIFA angered many fans. They believed that FIFA "favored the rich" because in Group A, Qatar was also chosen as the host.
Saudi Arabia benefited the most. Indonesia was at a disadvantage because the other team in Group B was Iraq. They were more or less familiar with the field and weather in Saudi Arabia than the players under coach Patrick Kluivert. In addition, Indonesia was also at a disadvantage in terms of the match schedule. They had to play an early match on October 8, when the new players only had 1-2 days to get used to the field. And 3 days later they played the next match against Iraq. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had 6 days off before entering the final match against Iraq.
Similar to the location issue, Saudi Arabia also benefits the most from this match schedule. And Indonesia is at a disadvantage compared to Iraq because at least this team has more time to get used to the field (first match on October 11).
Saudi Arabia does not have to spend time and effort traveling, because almost all of their national team players play in the country. As for Iraq, about 40% of their players play in Europe, and the remaining 60% only need to travel 2 hours by plane to Saudi Arabia (a distance of 1,700km).
Miserable Indonesian team
Meanwhile, Indonesia is still the most miserable. 12 Indonesian players playing in Europe and America have to travel more than 6,000km to Saudi Arabia. The rest of the players playing in the country also have to travel a similar distance to Saudi Arabia. These are not "making a mountain out of a molehill" difficulties.
If you follow the world of top football, fans will understand the obstacles that South American, Asian, African stars... face when they have to travel back and forth between the two continents of Europe and America to compete during FIFA Days.
Time zones, travel fatigue, and weather changes will pose numerous challenges for Indonesia’s naturalized stars in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. For example, the average temperature in Belgium and the Netherlands (countries with many Indonesian players) currently ranges from 10 to 16 degrees Celsius, while in Saudi Arabia it is currently 25 to 35 degrees Celsius.
Of course, football is unpredictable. The more difficult the situation, the more Indonesia will try and fight as they showed in the third qualifying round.
Ole Romeny returns
A few days ago, Indonesia received bad news when goalkeeper Emil Audero, who plays in Serie A, was injured. In return, striker Ole Romeny has recovered from his injury and has been called up to the national team. 3 months ago, this striker who plays in England suffered a very serious injury, which forced him to sit out for the entire time.
Romeny has now scored three goals in four games for Indonesia, including two crucial goals against Bahrain and China in the third qualifying round.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vong-loai-world-cup-2026-tat-ca-deu-chong-lai-indonesia-20251007095554952.htm
![[Photo] Impressions of the Can Gio Whale Festival](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/10/09/1759984089762_image12334-5642-jpg.webp)
Comment (0)