Indonesia vs Philippines

Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno sets the stage for Indonesia’s pivotal 2026 World Cup qualifying encounter against the Philippines.

Indonesia’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time in the nation’s history hang by a thread as they commence the final round only one point clear of third-placed Vietnam. A 2-0 home loss to runaway group winners Iraq last time out ended Indonesia’s three-game unbeaten run in the qualifying cycle (W2, D1), putting them in an awkward position ahead of the final round. Though Vietnam would have to defy the odds to beat the Iraqis in the other Group F fixture to leapfrog ‘Tim Garuda,’ the Indonesians can’t afford to take anything for granted. While they’re heavily fancied to beat the Philippines and hold up their end of the bargain, a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixtures should be a stark reminder for Shin Tae-yong’s side not to underestimate their opposition.

In the meantime, the Philippines’ qualifying campaign has been an unmitigated disaster, with the visitors losing all four Group F matches, barring the abovementioned H2H draw. Nailed to the bottom of the standings with nothing but pride left to play for, the Street Dogs head to Jakarta to end a four-game winless run against Indonesia (D3, L1) and avoid a first winless World Cup qualifying cycle since 2002. However, that’s easier said than done, considering they’ve lost their last three away internationals by a single-goal margin, including two without scoring. As if that’s not frustrating enough, they’ve drawn a blank in all three previous away H2Hs (D1, L2).