On July 10, the Indonesian team received good news from the new rankings of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). According to the update, the archipelago team was added 11.63 points, rising 5 places to 118th in the world . Notably, Indonesia's 118th place in the world also marks their best FIFA ranking in the past 15 years. Previously, in April 2010, the Indonesian team was ranked 110th in the world .
However, improving the position on the FIFA rankings will not help the Indonesian team in the upcoming 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. According to the announcement made on the afternoon of July 11 by the AFC, the Indonesian team is still in the lowest seed group, along with the Oman team. With this announcement, coach Patrick Kluivert's students are expected to face many difficulties when facing strong teams such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia (also in group 1) and Iraq, UAE (group 2).
The Indonesian team (red shirts) is in the lowest seed group in the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia is scheduled to take place in Qatar and Saudi Arabia from October 8 to 14, 2025. The 6 teams in the 3 groups will be divided into 2 groups, playing only a single round-robin. The top teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. At the same time, the second-placed teams from the 4th qualifying round will play two home-and-away play-off matches to determine the Asian representative team in the intercontinental play-off round. The draw for the 4th qualifying round is expected to take place on July 17 at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
Indonesian media unhappy
As soon as the AFC announced the above decision, CNN Indonesia expressed surprise: “The AFC made a strange decision to use the old FIFA rankings (updated on June 13) in the draw. Although there is no significant difference in rankings, if the rankings on July 10 are used, groups 1 and 2 will change, especially strong teams like Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Saudi Arabia is ranked 59, in theory should be in group 2 but will be pushed up to group 1 because it is the host country. Meanwhile, Iraq is ranked 58, pushed down to group 2. With these changes, Indonesia is in the lowest group, completely likely to fall into the “death” group in the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Not to mention, in group 1, the Qatar team with a ranking of 53 and currently the Asian Cup champion is waiting.”
The Indonesian team (in white) will face extremely strong opponents.
PHOTO: REUTERS
With the full support of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), coach Patrick Kluivert is expected to help the national team win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Last week, the 49-year-old coach was in the Netherlands, along with many assistants, to meet with Indonesian players playing abroad. After the meeting, coach Patrick Kluivert affirmed his determination: "Team spirit will make the dream of reaching the 2026 World Cup come true. We are ready to make history."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-indonesia-phat-y-vi-afc-ra-don-bat-ngo-tham-vong-den-world-cup-2026-gap-kho-185250711164600788.htm
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