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Forget Japan, Indonesia must now be Australia’s biggest rivals in Asia. A potentially productive partnership is set to move to a new level on Thursday with a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier to be played in Sydney. The soaring Samurai Blue are so far ahead – in all aspects – that they will surely become the first team to secure a spot in North America this week, enabling them to look down serenely at the fierce fight going on far below. Japan are setting the standard for the rest of Asia to follow and on that lengthy quest, Indonesia are valuable travelling companions for Australia.
A look at Group C is testament to that. After six games played of 10, Japan are nine points clear. Just one point, however, separates the Socceroos in second and China at the bottom in sixth. With the first automatic spot already long gone, there is a fierce five-way fight for the other. But there is another route to qualification – those in third and fourth advance to another stage to play off for the two remaining places in this expanded 48-team tournament.
To just have reached this third round of qualification would have been enough for Indonesia not long ago, but their ambitions are not what they used to be, as was evident in their hard-fought 0-0 draw with the Socceroos in Jakarta in September. Since then, Graham Arnold stepped down as Australia’s head coach and was replaced by Tony Popovic, but bigger news was Indonesia’s replacement of Shin Tae-yong with Patrick Kluivert in January. This week’s game in Sydney is the former Barcelona forward’s first since taking the job, given to him because of the many Dutch links in the team. The major naturalisation program shows no sign of stopping, with players still heading to Indonesia’s European embassies on an almost monthly basis.
Indeed, if you had told the likes of Tim Cahill, Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell in 2006 when Australia entered Asian football that less than two decades later, Indonesia would arrive in Sydney for a World Cup qualifier with more Europe-based players than the hosts, they would have thought you were hitting the Bintang a little too hard. But here we are. There is no fear factor, no inkling of intimidation or concerns about physical battles. Indonesia are as experienced as their hosts in terms of Europe; it is in Asia where some players have to catch up.
The long-term challenge for Indonesia is presenting this change as good for the domestic game – something that is easier as long as a glittering World Cup spot is shining on the horizon. So in the short-term Kluivert has to carry on the good work of his South Korean predecessor – not an impossible job given he can actually communicate with most of the team. The coaching resume of the Uefa Champions League winner is very much a footnote at the bottom of his playing achievements, but getting Indonesia to a second World Cup – the first was back in 1938 as the Dutch East Indies – would be a noteworthy achievement.
For tournament regulars Australia, a home defeat to Indonesia would be painful but, at least, signal that the two neighbours can push each other to greater heights. Instead of looking to a country on the opposite end of a mighty ocean, there would be one just the other side of the Timor Sea.
The value of moving closer to the southeast Asian nation, a football loving market of 270 million people, is not a novel concept off the pitch. A joint bid for the 2034 World Cup was talked about just a couple of years ago. Both countries also have hats in the ring for the 2031 Asian Cup and now with Indonesia having the 2023 Fifa Under-17 World Cup under the belt, joining forces in that race may be mutually beneficial. Indonesia’s FA seems to be getting its act together after decades of mismanagement, corruption and political interference and would be a more reliable partner. Australia should look towards Indonesia as much as possible for players, partners and as a gateway towards greater engagement with Southeast Asia.
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On Thursday though it is all about the points for Popovic. A win would strengthen the Socceroos’ hold on second, with Bahrain almost certain to lose in Japan and Saudi Arabia hosting China. If all goes well, ahead of next week’s trip to China, Australia could be three points clear with three games to go.
Even if the visitors do manage to put a spanner in Popovic’s plans, there would be at least one positive – it would show that while the short-term future for Indonesia is orange, the long-term one for Australia is red and white, rather than blue.
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