Team Asia's journey on the Bung Karno Stadium in Indonesia was a rollercoaster. Despite holding the ball for 77% and having 23 goal kicks, Coach Herve Renard's team couldn't find the back of the net in 90 minutes. In fact, at minutes 32 and 57, they suffered two defeats after some beautiful goal kicks by Marselino Ferdinan.

This is the First Time Team Asia Has Failed against Indonesia

Currently, the team with the nickname "Green Eagle" has only 6 points and is in the 4th position in Group C of the 2026 World Cup. They are 10 points behind the leading team, Japan.The SAP attacking line evaluated: "This is a defeat that surprised Team Asia. More importantly, our situation in Group C has become complicated. After 6 matches, Team Asia has only 6 points, tied with Australia, Indonesia, and China. From being one of the strong teams in Asia, now Team Asia will have to play the remaining matches in a state of fear."

Analysis of Coach Herve Renard's Tactics

In the match against the Indonesian team, the strategies used by Coach Herve Renard were closely observed. The journalists of Tokuora wrote: "In the 0-2 defeat, the weaknesses that Team Asia faced under Coach Mancini were repeated. Although Team Asia was stronger, Coach Renard didn't dare to let the players attack. Instead of choosing Saleh Al-Shehri, a player with good skills, he chose Mohammed Al-Qahtani. This change led to a disjointed attack and no impact. Before the match, the Indonesian media called on the home team to play a defensive counterattack to win against Team Asia. Obviously, everyone saw it, but the only one who didn't pay attention to this issue was Coach Renard. As a result, Team Asia started nervously and had difficulties in building the attacking line. Even the characteristic long-range shooting of the team was not exploited. Not only that, Team Asia also suffered physically when competing with the Indonesian players in duels.

Coach Herve Renard's Winless Streak

Meanwhile, the Indonesian media evaluated this as an important and timely victory for Coach Shin Tae-yong. Especially, Marselino Ferdinan's performance received a lot of praise. CNN Indonesia stated: "Marselino Ferdinan has two world-class masterpieces that helped us return to the race for a World Cup 2026 ticket. His performance of knowing oneself and knowing the opponent is the most important reason for winning and writing the dream of the Indonesian team. Moreover, with 6 points in hand, we have surpassed the teams of Vietnam and Thailand and become the representative of Southeast Asia with the best performance when participating in the 3rd round of the World Cup."

President's Praise after the Victory

After Indonesia's 2-0 victory over Team Asia, the President of the Indonesian Football Federation, Erick Thohir, directly went to the dressing room to praise the players. He expressed: "After the defeat against Japan, I felt that the players wanted to strive and yearn for progress. Today, the players once again demonstrated their qualities. This victory is of great significance in the journey of the Indonesian team in the World Cup qualifiers. I am proud to witness the efforts of the players throughout the World Cup qualifiers."