In the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, Indonesia will have to compete with a series of strong opponents in West Asia such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, UAE and Iraq. The team from the archipelago really wants to host this stage to have an advantage when facing West Asian opponents.
Indonesia will have to compete in West Asia in the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup (Photo: Getty).
However, in the end, the AFC decided to let Saudi Arabia and Qatar host the two groups. At this stage, the 6 teams were divided into two groups of 3 teams each. The top team in each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the runners-up will participate in the 5th qualifying round to select the Asian representative to participate in the Intercontinental Play-off.
AFC believes that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have many conditions to host the two groups. Qatar has hosted the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has hosted five consecutive U17 World Cups (from 2025 to 2029). In addition, Saudi Arabia is also the host of the 2027 Asian Cup.
However, Indonesia is not satisfied with this decision. President of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), Erik Thohir, asked for fairness when Indonesia has to compete alone against West Asian teams.
“We respect and welcome the AFC’s decision to appoint Qatar and Saudi Arabia as hosts. I urge the AFC and the host countries to organise fair matches in a spirit of sportsmanship ,” he said.
Competing in West Asia presents many challenges for Indonesia (Photo: Getty).
This is a very important period in the history of Indonesian football. We want to make history and that starts with hard work. Wherever we play, Garuda (the nickname of the Indonesian team) needs to do their best. We will try to prepare the team as best as possible, with full support from all parties.”
Bola newspaper believes that the AFC has a “fragment of fraud” when choosing Saudi Arabia and Qatar as hosts at this important stage. The newspaper quoted expert Binder Singh: “Why didn’t the AFC organize the fourth qualifying round in a neutral country like Korea or Japan? Or else, they could have chosen Malaysia or Thailand, which can meet the requirements. I doubt the AFC’s impartiality when choosing Saudi Arabia and Qatar as hosts of the fourth qualifying round.”
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/indonesia-ham-huc-to-gian-lan-sau-quyet-dinh-cua-afc-20250614192538582.htm
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