“Look at the average possession in four games”.
The Indonesian national team lost 1-2 to China on Friday night at 9 p.m. in the fourth match of Group C of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North American Football Confederation (FIFA) North American Championship. China (ranked 91st in the FIFA rankings), who had earlier faltered with three consecutive defeats, saved their pride by holding off Indonesia (129th).
The result leaves Japan with 10 points, Australia with five, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with four, and Indonesia and China tied on three points. Despite the loss, Indonesia remains in fifth place, eos파워볼 ahead of China on goal difference.
Earlier, China had lost three straight matches, 0-7 against Japan, 1-2 against Saudi Arabia, and 1-3 against Australia. Indonesia, on the other hand, had three draws: 1-1 against Saudi Arabia, 0-0 against Australia, and 2-2 against Bahrain. Unsurprisingly, some people favored Indonesia despite the objective head-to-head record.
In fact, Indonesia had invested heavily in the lead-up to this match. As they prepared for the World Cup qualifiers under Shin Tae-yong, they actively naturalized dual-national players playing in Europe. As a result, half of the roster for the October call-up was made up of Europeans.
But organization was a problem. The defense, composed of European leaguers, made one big mistake after another. After dominating possession and driving forward in the first half, Indonesia fell victim to a series of lapses in defense. Indonesia conceded the first goal of the game in the 21st minute through Abduweli.
Zhang Yuning added another goal in the 44th minute to give China a 2-0 lead. In the second half, Indonesia had more offense on the road, with over 70% of the possession, but couldn’t find a decisive shot. The first half ended with China still leading 2-0.
The second half was more of the same. Back-to-back substitutions and shots on goal didn’t lead to anything. Indonesia, who had been pushing hard, finally pulled one back in the 40th minute through Tom Hay. However, no further goals were forthcoming. The game ended in a 1-2 defeat for Indonesia.
Despite the result, the Chinese media still gave Indonesia a cold shoulder. “We can still finish fourth in the group. They are now only two points behind the second place in the group,” said Zibo.com, adding that ‘contrary to fans’ expectations, the reality is that the chances are very low.”
“It’s only a two-point gap, but it’s a very difficult gap to make up. The team had lost three straight games heading into the tournament. The national team was absolutely dominated in terms of possession in the four matches: against Japan (23%), Saudi Arabia (42%), Australia (27%) and the Inni match (26%).”
“The only game with more than 30% possession was against Saudi Arabia, but that game was 11-10 and lasted over 60 minutes. Ball possession is not a reflection of a strong team, but simply an indication of their inability to solve the game properly.”