Indonesia shock Saudi Arabia while Japan overpower China in commanding fashion

JAKARTA – The competition for a spot in the 2026 World Cup Finals is intensifying in the Asian qualifying Group C, with teams gearing up for their matches on Nov 19.

Behind runaway leaders Japan, three teams – Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and China – are on six points after six games played. At press time, they were also level with Australia, who faced Bahrain away with the result unavailable.

The top two teams in each of the three groups will reach the showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico, while the third and fourth-placed teams advance to another round of qualifiers.

Indonesia pulled themselves into contention with a 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in front of their home fans in Jakarta, Marselino Ferdinan scoring twice to give Shin Tae-yong’s team their first win of the campaign.

A 32nd-minute curling effort was followed by a flick over goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar 12 minutes into the second half as the Indonesians – the only South-east Asian team left in qualifying – sealed a famous upset.

“Indonesia deserved to win this game,” Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard admitted.

“We have four games left and it will be tough but it will be tough for everybody.”

Meanwhile, a ruthless Japan moved to the brink of qualifying for their eighth straight World Cup after beating old rivals China 3-1 away from home.

Headers from Koki Ogawa and Ko Itakura put group leaders Japan two goals up at half-time before Lin Liangming pulled one back for China early in the second half.

Ogawa snuffed out China’s hopes of a comeback with his second of the game six minutes later in front of a vociferous crowd of 45,000 in Xiamen.

“It was tough at times and we knew that the opening goal was going to be key,” said Dutch-based striker Ogawa.

“First of all, the players, and not just the players who were on the pitch, but everyone prepared all they could,” added Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu when asked to assess the victory.

“And I think we won because of the energy of the whole team, including the players on the pitch, the players on the bench, and unfortunately the players who couldn’t make the bench.”

Japan were playing their first senior international in China in nine years and there is a long history of rivalry between the two countries.

There was a heavy police presence outside the Xiamen Egret Stadium, where around 750 Japan fans were expected to be in attendance.

Loud booing greeted the Japanese national anthem before kick-off and the game was briefly stopped in the first half when a fan invaded the pitch.

Footage posted online by Chinese broadcaster Phoenix TV showed a man running onto the pitch about 30 minutes into the game and approaching the Japanese goalkeeper.

A slogan, handwritten in Chinese characters on his bare back, read “Rise of national football”.

The man also had “Born like ants with lofty aspirations” written by hand on his white T-shirt, an image captured by a Reuters photographer showed, an apparent reference to China’s underdog status in the game.

After running to the other end of the pitch, the man was tackled by several security guards, the footage showed. The match then quickly resumed.

The win gave Japan five wins and a draw in Group C and took them to within touching distance of a place at the 2026 World Cup.

Japan are home to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in their next fixtures in March.

“These last two games were difficult as we expected, but it was really positive to get two wins,” said Itakura, referring to also the 4-0 win over Indonesia last week.

“There are lots of things we need to improve but it was positive and we’ll get ready for the next games.”

China have six points from six games and are still in the hunt for a place at their first World Cup since 2002. , AFP