On an early October evening, in the sweltering heat of the Arabian Gulf, Indonesia’s national football team, the Red and Whites, were 2-1 up against their hosts Bahrain, writes Colin Stevens.
This was, in some ways, an upsetting of the odds: the small gulf nation ranked (and still does rank) above its Southeast Asian opposition, according to FIFA.
Yet Indonesia had just posted credible draws against Saudi Arabia and Australia. The Bahrain fixture was therefore the third of a round of qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 – with Indonesian fans already expecting qualification.
In other words, this was a game Indonesia was meant to win.
However, as the clock ticked into the last fifteen minutes of normal time, Indonesia looked far from comfortable. The team has long been physically rugged, but, in tactical terms, it was lost.
Indonesia’s two goals had come from moments of individual brilliance. The first was a slick side-footed finish by Ragnar Oratmangoen on the stroke of half time, followed by Rafael Struick’s curling effort from the edge of the box on ’74 minutes.
Struick’s worldie should have been final, but Indonesia soon fell out of shape, inviting pressure from Bahrain and becoming wholly lackluster in possession.
Bahrain’s eventual equalizer came late – in the ninth minute of added time to much controversy – but it was predictable. Indonesia, a team of excellent individuals brought together by the recent reformation of the national game, had one clear failing: tactical ineptitude.
Head coach Shin Tae-yong is now under great pressure. A former South Korea international, Tae-yong managed his home country between 2017 and 2018, before ascending to the top berth of the Red and Whites in 2020. Despite a faithful period of service, he is struggling to prove that his methods go beyond physicality and fitness.
If Indonesia is to be a World Cup team, a more cogent system of play is needed, as are tactical plans for different game settings, from fighting back from behind to closing out games when ahead.
Following the draw against Bahrain, and subsequent losses to China and Japan, Indonesia’s footballing decisionmakers will be considering how to get back on track. International fans should be in no doubt that this task is taken deadly seriously.
The appointment of ex Inter Milan and DC United owner Erick Thohir to lead the football association (PSSI) in 2023 is evidence of Indonesia’s need to succeed. Thohir is very well connected in FIFA – he is personal friends with Gianni Infantino – and delivered Indonesia the 2023 U-17 World Cup.
Just as importantly, since 2019, national team players have benefited from European-grade facilities and care. This means that playing for Indonesia is an attraction rather than a burden. In tandem, PSSI has executed a successful programme of naturalisations, whereby players with Indonesian heritage can join the national set-up.
Maarten Paes (FC Dallas); Ole Romeny (FC Utrecht); Mees Hilgers (Twente); Thom Haye (Almere City); Calvin Verdonk (NEC); Kevin Diks (FC Copenhagen); Jay Idzes (Venezia); Nathan Tjoe-A-On (Swansea City). All of these are impressive additions made in recent years to the Red and Whites, quality players that operate week-in-week-out in the world’s top leagues.
Concerningly, rumours have emanated from the Indonesian camp that naturalised players, many with dual Indonesian-Dutch heritage, are not happy with the standard of coaching. There seems to be a yawning gap between the tactical nous of European managers and what they encounter in Jakarta.
Beyond tactics, a level of pastoral care is also demanded by this group. Players like Idzes and Tjoe-A-On are Dutch speakers who play in Italy and the UK respectively. Indonesia is thousands of miles away and the culture is unfamiliar.
Embedding players of such quality into the national team – making them feel welcome and cherished – is a no-brainer. Shin Tae-yong appears to be failing at the task and this must change.
More broadly, Indonesian fans are crying out for a consistent philosophy of football. In Asia, Japan stands out for its possession-based play and use of wide centre-backs to allow attacks to be created from different angles. The Samurai Blue play the ball to feet, even under pressure.
Spain’s national team may be a more ambitious source of inspiration – Spaniards seem to be taught to pass and move from birth – but building a winning system requires such consistency.
In truth, Indonesia is more likely to alight on a counter-attacking approach based on fast wingers. But it’s crucial, at least in the short term, that the head coach alights on something.
This coming March will be a veritable inflection point in the history of Indonesian football. World Cup qualifying fixtures against Australia and Bahrain are must-not-lose, if not must-win.
The group has the talent to snatch four or even six points from these games, thereby taking a huge step closer to the truly remarkable feat of World Cup status. What remains in doubt is the game plan: the pressing matter of ‘how’ Indonesia plans to win these games.
This recurring failing is yet to be solved by the coaching staff. A solution must be found soon, and it must be found quickly, if Indonesia is to become a true footballing power.
