Thom Haye's shot was inaccurate.

* PRE-MATCH ANALYSIS

In the first leg, the Philippines surprised everyone by putting on a rather impressive performance against Indonesia. They attacked strongly, took the lead, and secured a draw at home. Playing on an artificial turf pitch was partly to blame for Indonesia's difficulties. During that FIFA Days period, they weren't as strong as they are now, having lost heavily to Iraq 1-5.

The Indonesian team (in red jerseys) drew with the Philippines in the first leg.

But this time, things are very different. The Indonesian team is returning to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, playing in front of nearly 80,000 home fans. This will be a huge motivation for the home team and immense pressure for the visiting team. In terms of personnel, the Indonesian team is also much more complete with a squad of extremely high-quality naturalized players, spread across all three lines.

These include Justin Hubner (center back, Cerezo Osaka - Japan), Nathan Tjoe-A-On (winger, SC Heerenveen - Netherlands), Thom Haye (central midfielder, SC Heerenveen - Netherlands), and Ragnar Oratmangoen (forward, Fortuna Sittard - Netherlands). These players, along with domestic players like Pratama Arhan, Asnawi Mangkualam, Witan Sulaeman, Egy Maulana, and Maselino Ferdinan, have become more cohesive and effective. This was demonstrated in the two victories against the Vietnamese national team in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Asian Cup campaign (reaching the quarter-finals).

Host nation Indonesia has the power to decide its own fate regarding qualification for the next round.

The Philippine national team has also upgraded its squad with several naturalized players such as Patrick Reichelt (of German origin), Zico Bailey, Alex Monis (of American origin), and Dylan Demuynck (of Belgian origin). However, their quality cannot compare to that of the Indonesian naturalized players. They have only played in the Malaysian National League, the US First Division, MLS Next Pro (a league for B teams), and the Belgian Second Division, respectively. Furthermore, they haven't had much time to train and play together.

At this point, the Philippine national team no longer has any goals in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, so in terms of desire, the team from the archipelago also has a clear advantage over their opponent. Therefore, if coach Tom Saintfiet's team leaves Gelora Bung Karno with at least one point, it could be considered a "miracle." And when a miracle happens, the motivation for the Vietnamese national team to fight against Iraq will be much greater.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/world-cup-2026-indonesia-0-0-philippines-cho-doi-bat-ngo-tai-chao-lua-gelora-bung-karno-185240611114248763.htm