Hiring a private jet to fly to China to play against the home team.

The Indonesian national team drew 2-2 with Bahrain in a match played on the evening of October 10th. Coach Shin Tae-yong's players performed well despite playing away, leading 2-1 for most of the second half. Unfortunately, in the final seconds of injury time, goalkeeper Maarten Paes had to pick the ball out of the net after Mohamed Marhoon's tap-in. This was Indonesia's third consecutive draw in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The Southeast Asian representative is currently ranked 5th in Group C with 3 points, one point behind Bahrain, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Japan is leading the group with 9 points from 3 wins out of 3 matches.

Coach Shin Tae-yong expressed his disappointment at his team only getting one point: “Both teams played their hearts out until the referee blew the final whistle. However, I still have to mention some embarrassing things, in this case, the referee's decisions. If the AFC wants to develop, decisions like those in this match must change. Anyone who watched this match will understand why our players are angry. The referee's decisions were all wrong.”

Coach Shin Tae-yong criticized the referee for causing the Indonesian team to lose points.

Following a painful draw with Bahrain, the Indonesian national team will travel to Qingdao Youth Football Stadium to face China. This will also be Indonesia's final match of the October FIFA Days. China is currently bottom of Group C, having lost all three matches, so coach Shin Tae-yong is confident in aiming for three points to improve their position. Before leaving Bahrain, striker Marselino Ferdinand expressed his determination: "Indonesia will leave China with three points in hand, I'm sure of that."

The match between the Indonesian and Chinese national teams will take place at 7 PM on October 15th. According to calculations by the Bola Times , coach Shin Tae-yong's team will be affected physically due to the distance of 6,599 km from Riffa City (Bahrain) – where the Indonesian team just finished their first match – to Qingdao (China). This distance is quite far, especially since Qingdao is not the capital, meaning the Indonesian team will have to make multiple connecting flights.

However, to resolve this, the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) decided to use a private jet to fly Coach Shin Tae-yong and his team directly to Qingdao. The Indonesian team will have ample travel time and will not have to go through any layovers.

PSSI President Erick Thohir encouraged the Indonesian national team: “I ask everyone in the Indonesian national team, including the players, coaching staff, and officials, to focus on the next match against China. Let's prove that we deserve more than one point, even playing away from home. I also hope that the fans will continue to provide unwavering support to the Indonesian national team players.”

The Indonesian team will have a direct flight to China.

The Chinese team had to travel a longer distance than the visiting Indonesian team.

Notably, PSSI's recent alteration of the distance the Indonesian team traveled to Qingdao actually made it shorter than the distance the host team, China, had to travel. Before returning home, the Chinese team played against Australia in Adelaide (October 10th, China lost 1-3). The distance from Adelaide to Qingdao is 8,112 km, which is 1,500 km further than the distance the Indonesian team traveled.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the reason the Chinese national team has had such a long journey is because the players have had poor results, causing coach Branko Ivankovic's team to have many standards cut.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoa-dau-bahrain-pssi-choi-lon-thue-chuyen-co-rieng-dua-indonesia-dau-doi-tuyen-trung-quoc-185241011162712381.htm