Indonesia’s national football team is scheduled to face Singapore in Jakarta on September 25.
Head coach John Herdman expressed strong confidence in winning the title, but also warned against the organizational strength of Southeast Asian teams.
What matters in this tournament is not optimistic remarks, but what standards the newly assembled team demonstrates in the group stage.
3-Line Summary
1. Indonesia will play Singapore in its first match
2. The group stage will be held in Jakarta and Bandung
3. The coach’s confidence in winning the title is not the result
Group Stage Begins with the Singapore Match on September 25
Indonesia has been placed in Group A of FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 Division 1 alongside Singapore, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. According to a report by detiksport, Group A matches will be held at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), and Indonesia’s first match will be against Singapore on September 25.
The reported schedule then has Indonesia facing Malaysia on September 28 and Bangladesh on October 1. The 1st-place team in each of Groups A and B will play in the final at the same stadium on October 5, while the 2nd-place teams will compete in the third-place match. Therefore, the points from the first match will not determine whether Indonesia wins the title, but they will establish its starting point in a group stage consisting of only three matches.
Group B consists of Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan, with matches scheduled to take place at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung. Since the tournament as a whole has not yet begun, what is currently confirmed is the group allocation and schedule; the actual standings and finalists have not yet been determined.
Herdman’s Confidence and the Challenges That Remain
John Herdman, the British-born head coach of Indonesia’s national team, met with reporters at Jakarta Madya Stadium and said he was highly optimistic about the team’s chances of winning the title. Citing the players’ talent as a strength, he expressed his intention to focus on maintaining their standards in every match.
However, these remarks reflect the coach’s plans and assessment, not the tournament result. ANTARA reported that Herdman also viewed Southeast Asian competition as difficult. While some opposing teams have played together for many years and built strong coordination, Indonesia’s national team is in the process of creating a new identity under Herdman.
This is the key to understanding the tournament. Indonesia has presented its desire to win the title on the strength of its talent, but the coach himself identified differences in experience and cohesion as variables. Beginning with the Singapore match, how much Indonesia narrows that gap across its three group-stage matches will be the standard determining whether its confidence leads to results.
What the 3-Win, 1-Loss Record at SUGBK Shows
detiksport compiled Indonesia’s national team record in matches coached by Herdman at SUGBK as 3 wins and 1 loss. Indonesia recorded a 4–0 victory over Saint Kitts and Nevis, a 3–0 victory over Oman, and a 1–0 victory over Mozambique, while it lost 0–1 to Bulgaria.
This record shows previous results achieved at the home stadium, but it does not predict the outcome of the FIFA ASEAN Cup. That is because the opponents and tournament conditions are different. However, since Indonesia will play all three of its group-stage matches at SUGBK, whether it can turn its home-match experience into a strength in the new tournament will have to be confirmed in the actual matches.
Sources
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