Visiting Indonesia's Bung Karno Stadium, the Saudi Arabian team had a poor performance. Despite holding the ball 77% of the time and shooting 23 times, after 90 minutes, coach Herve Renard's team did not once penetrate the Indonesian net. Not only that, in the 32nd and 57th minutes, the Saudi Arabian team also conceded 2 goals after beautiful shots by Marselino Ferdinan.
This is the first time in history that the Saudi Arabian team has lost to Indonesia. Currently, the team nicknamed “Blue Falcons” has only 6 points, ranking 4th in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, 10 points behind the leading team, Japan.
SAP news agency commented: “This is a defeat that surprised Saudi Arabian fans. More importantly, our situation in Group C has now become complicated. The Saudi Arabian team has only 6 points after 6 matches, equal to Australia, Indonesia, and China. From being one of the strong teams in Asia, Saudi Arabia will now have to play the remaining matches in a state of fear.”
Saudi Arabia team (right) lost to Indonesia for the first time
Kooora newspaper focused on the tactics used by coach Herve Renard in the match against the Indonesian team. Kooora journalists wrote: “With a 0-2 loss, the weaknesses that Saudi Arabia encountered under coach Mancini were repeated. Although Saudi Arabia was stronger, Mr. Renard did not dare to let his players attack. He did not choose Saleh Al-Shehri - a player in good form, but instead chose Mohammed Al-Qahtani. This change caused Saudi Arabia to attack in a disjointed manner, unable to show any mark.
Before the match, the Indonesian media called on the home team to play defensive counter-attacks to beat Saudi Arabia. Obviously everyone saw it, but the only person who did not pay attention to this issue was coach Renard. As a result, Saudi Arabia had a shaky start, having difficulty building an attack. Even the team's signature cross-ball weapon was not exploited. Not stopping there, the Saudi Arabian team also lost physically when competing one-on-one with Indonesian players.
Coach Herve Renard has yet to win since returning to lead the Saudi Arabian national team.
Meanwhile, Indonesian media assessed this as an important and timely victory for coach Shin Tae-yong and his team. In particular, Marselino Ferdinan's performance received a lot of praise.
CNN Indonesia commented: "Marselino Ferdinan had two world- class masterpieces, helping us return to the race for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. His brave performance, knowing himself and knowing his opponent, was the most important reason for the victory, continuing the dream of the Indonesian team. Moreover, with 6 points in hand, we have surpassed the Vietnamese and Thai teams, becoming the Southeast Asian representative with the best performance when participating in the 3rd qualifying round of the World Cup".
After the Indonesian team's 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, President of the Indonesian Football Federation Erick Thohir also went directly into the locker room to praise the players.
He expressed: "After the loss to Japan, I felt the players wanted to try and were eager to improve. Today, the players once again showed their qualities. This victory has great significance in Indonesia's qualifying journey. I am proud to witness the players' efforts throughout the World Cup qualifying process."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truyen-thong-a-rap-xe-ut-chi-trich-hlv-renard-du-doi-vi-thua-day-dang-indonesia-185241119225913011.htm
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