Indonesia vs Vietnam

Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno is the venue as Indonesia and Vietnam go head-to-head in a high-stakes 2026 World Cup qualifier.

Despite a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia in January’s Asian Cup last-16 tie, Indonesia made a historic success in Qatar, making it out of the competition’s group stages for the first time in the nation’s history. Though securing World Cup qualification wouldn’t be an unprecedented feat, as they featured in the 1938 tournament, it looks like a tall order. Indeed, Indonesia’s effort to reach the third qualifying phase for the first time under this format has suffered a stuttering start. After a 5-1 demolition at the hands of Iraq in their Group F opener, Shin Tae-yong’s side hauled back a halftime deficit in a 1-1 draw against the Philippines, resulting in a bottom-of-the-table placing at the start of this round. The situation could improve against Vietnam, considering their only Asian Cup triumph two months ago came against this opposition.

With that in mind, the visiting Vietnamese have an account to settle with Indonesia, but their lackluster form in 2024 looks concerning. They’ve lost all four internationals since the start of the calendar year, conceding multiple goals in all but the abovementioned defeat to Indonesia. Ominously for head coach Philippe Troussier, those losses form part of a larger – more sinister pattern – containing eight reversals across their last nine internationals (W1). Moreover, five of those eight defeats have seen Vietnam fail to get on the scoresheet, which has been the case in three of their last four encounters against Indonesia (W1, D2, L1). If it’s any consolation, the only exception to that dreadful nine-game run came in their opening Group F fixture as they eased past the Philippines 2-0 on the road.