In the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, Indonesia fell into Group F with Vietnam, Iraq and the Philippines.
Indonesia has continuously lost to the Vietnamese team in recent years.
In theory, Iraq is the team that is rated higher than the three Southeast Asian representatives.
Therefore, Indonesia will compete for a ticket to the third qualifying round with Vietnam and the Philippines.
CNN Indonesia analyzed: "If we cannot overcome Iraq in Group F, we still have a chance to win a ticket to the next round as second place in the group when we defeat Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the Philippines is not a threat to us. In 21 meetings in history, the Indonesian team has only lost 1 match to this opponent."
The archipelago's newspaper also mentioned that the home team has continuously lost to the Vietnamese team in recent years.
“Since coach Shin Tae-yong took over, we have never won against Vietnam. Indonesia's best performance against Vietnam during this time was only two draws, in the semi-finals of the 2020 and 2022 AFF Cups," CNN Indonesia continued.
However, the Indonesian newspaper believes that at the present time, the home team is stronger than the Vietnamese team, so coach Shin Tae-yong and his team have the right to dream of a ticket to the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
"Indonesia's chance of advancing to the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia is quite open, as long as we can defeat the Vietnamese team," CNN Indonesia concluded.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese team has played 6 friendly matches (3 wins and 3 losses) under coach Troussier.
Most recently, the red team lost three consecutive matches against stronger opponents during the FIFA Days in October, namely China, Uzbekistan and South Korea.
According to the schedule, the two matches between Vietnam and Indonesia in Group F of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup will take place on March 21 and March 26, 2024.
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