Indonesia will make their first appearance in the Asian Cup since 2007 when they face Iraq on Monday. The Indonesians finished second in their third-round qualifying group thanks to a convincing 7-0 victory over Nepal and a 3-0 victory for Jordan over Kuwait. Meanwhile, the Lions of Mesopotamia secured their spot in the tournament by finishing second in their second qualification phase, behind Iran.
Preview (Indonesia vs. Iraq)
Indonesia persuaded Shin Tae-Yong to take charge of the national team. It was viewed as quite the coup, and the South Koreans helped to foster an exciting new wave of talent. The man who orchestrated South Korea’s incredible upset of the defending champions. Based on the most recent FIFA rating, Indonesia is ranked 146th. It puts them second from the bottom among Asian Cup participant teams, behind Hong Kong (150).
Featuring in a group containing the top-ranked Asian nation Japan, along with Vietnam and Iraq, it will be a difficult order for Tae-Yong to propel them beyond the group stage for the first time. With Indonesia losing three friendlies this month by a total of 11-1 and having lost five straight games across all competitions, its form should have been stronger going into this competition. They are now bottom of their second-round qualification group with one point after two matches. They have not won against an Asian opponent since defeating Brunei twice in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
Despite their recent dismal performance, Indonesia has always started Asian Cup campaigns strongly. They won their opening match in each of their previous two outings (2004 and 2007). With a seeding of 63, it puts them second in this group. Iraq is expected to go to the tournament’s knockout round. Jesus Casas led the national squad to an incredible double last year. They won the Arabian Cup in September and then won the King’s Cup for the first time. The Asian Cup will be the first big continental competition for Casas as a head coach.
Team News
While Ivar Jenner, who plays for Eredivisie team Utrecht, has five caps, Justin Hubner, who is still waiting on his first Premier League appearance for Wolverhampton Wanderers, has earned his first three caps for Indonesia this year, ranking second in the 26-man squad behind Wahyu Prasetyo of Persib Semarang (two). Elkan Baggott of Ipswich Town reached 21 caps in their loss to Iran last week (5-0), Marcelino Ferdinan is three caps away from 20, and Pratama Arhan, their most seasoned international selected for this competition, can reach 40 caps on Monday.
In their first third-round qualifying encounter against Kuwait, Witan Sulaeman scored twice to lead them. Marc Klok and Rahmat Irianto also scored goals to help them win 2-1 despite falling behind, and Indonesia finished three points ahead of them in Group A. Casas has a blend of youthful and veteran players to choose from at the Asian Cup, with Akam Hashim being the only one without an international appearance for Iraq, while Montader Madjed collected his first cap last week in a friendly defeat to South Korea (1-0).
Aymen Hussein is one appearance away from 70, Ali Adnan is nine appearances shy of 100, Ibrahim Bayesh can reach the half-century mark if he plays in all of their group matches, and Bashar Resan reached his 60th appearance a week ago. In their first two 2026 World Cup qualifying matches, six different Iraqi players have reached the back of the net. These players include Resan, Osama Rashid, Youssef Amyn, and Ali Al-Hamadi. They defeated Indonesia 5-1, with an own goal by Jordan Amat sealing the victory.
Indonesia 0-3 Iraq
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