Indonesia advised to reduce Vietnam's morale

According to Indonesian football expert Aris Budi Sulistyo, coach Shin Tae-yong should instruct his players to play defensively to reduce Vietnam's fighting spirit in the fourth match of the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

"Playing at My Dinh Stadium, Indonesia will face immense pressure from the Vietnamese crowd," Sulistyo told Bola . "Shin Tae-yong's team must be aware of the fighting spirit of the Vietnamese players. Therefore, Indonesia must reduce the opponent's fighting spirit in the upcoming match by controlling the ball to avoid making many mistakes."

Midfielder Witan Sulaeman (right) slides to foul Phan Tuan Tai during Indonesia's victory over Vietnam at the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, matchday 3 of Group F in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on the evening of March 21, 2024. Photo: Lam Thoa

Indonesia held possession for 55% of the game in their 1-0 victory on March 21st at the Bung Karno Stadium. The home team also created more dangerous opportunities, forcing goalkeeper Nguyen Filip to make more saves. They also received three yellow cards, while the visiting team only had one player cautioned.

If they don't lose at My Dinh Stadium, Shin's team will have control over their own destiny and will advance to the next round, even with two matches remaining. Meanwhile, Philippe Troussier's team must win their match on March 26th, otherwise they risk elimination.

Sulistyo believes Indonesia needs to significantly improve their finishing ability in the second leg if they want to earn points. "Indonesia doesn't have a striker capable of scoring goals," the expert added. "Because in the previous match, Indonesia's only goal came from a throw-in and a mistake by the Vietnamese defender. The team's finishing ability needs to be greatly improved in the next match."

Indonesia had eight shots on goal in Jakarta, six of which were on target. But apart from Egy Maulana's goal in the 51st minute, they only truly troubled goalkeeper Filip Nguyen with a close-range shot from the midfielder himself in injury time of the second half.

Indonesia will most likely field newly naturalized striker Ragnar Oratmangoen in the starting lineup at My Dinh Stadium. However, he hasn't scored a goal in the past three years across all competitions. Rafael Struick, the striker who started at Bung Karno Stadium, is also a naturalized citizen, but he hasn't scored a professional goal for either his club or the national team.

With a squad of naturalized players from Europe, Indonesia has controlled the ball better in previous encounters with Vietnam. Coach Troussier is also applying this style to Vietnam, but without success in the past few months. The team has lost six consecutive matches in all competitions and has only won one of their last 10 games.

Hoang An

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