progresifjaya.id, JAKARTA – The Indonesian National Team will meet Australia in the continuation of the Group C match in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian zone on Thursday, March 20, 2025. This match is certain to be very crucial for both teams who are only one point apart in the standings. Australia has 7 points in second place in the standings and Indonesia has 6 points in third place in the standings.
It is interesting to wait, of course, what the results of this match will be. If Australia wins, their position will automatically be safer to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. A capital of 10 points will make the Socceroos even further away from the pursuit of their rivals. However, on the other hand, if Indonesia wins, Australia’s position will be overtaken by Garuda. Indonesia has 9 points to move up to second place in the standings, replacing Australia with a difference of 2 points.
As an Indonesian citizen, i will definitely hope that the second prediction will happen. But is it that easy to get? I will try to do the calculations to dissect it.
The Australia vs Indonesia match will be held at the Sydney Football Stadium. And so far, Australia Coach, Tony Popovic is still very confident that his team will silence Indonesia. Even so, he also admitted that he was very wary of the strategic scheme that Coach Patrick Kluivert would use in his debut match as Indonesia coach.
For the record, Tony Popovic himself has led the Kangaroos four times, replacing Graham Arnold who was fired in September 2024.
The four matches led by Tony Popovic were a 3-1 win over China, and three draws against Japan, Saudi Arabia, then Bahrain. Now the closest test is against the Indonesian and Chinese national teams.
Ironically, to face Indonesia, Popovic’s team is actually in a crippled condition. Three of its main pillars are currently injured.
The first is the Kangaroo team’s main striker, Kusini Yengi. The spearhead who plays for the English League 2 club, Portsmouth, injured his knee after the Bahrain vs Australia match. Until now, Yengi is still in the recovery stage. His chances of playing when Australia hosts Indonesia in March are still there, although not absolute.
The second main pillar of Australia who is also injured is Alessandro Circati. The Kangaroo team’s main center back suffered a ligament injury while defending Parma in the 2024-2025 Italian League. Due to this injury, Circati was absent for the 2024-2025 season. He is predicted to be able to return to action on April 1, 2025. This means that Circati will definitely be absent from wearing the Australian uniform against Indonesia.
Next is Harry Souttar.
Souttar is Australia’s mainstay center back at the moment. The 26-year-old player who is currently on loan from Leicester City to Sheffield United is also the most expensive player in the Australian squad.
Souttar has a market value of 8 million euros or around Rp135 billion at the moment. With the market value he has, there is no doubt that Souttar has a very crucial role for the Socceroos. However, because he is currently suffering from an Achilles tendon rupture injury sustained during the Sheffield United vs Burnley match in the 2024-2025 EFL Championship on December 26, 2024, Souttar is predicted to be sidelined for 12 months. This could mean that he will also not be on the field when Australia hosts Indonesia.
In cumulative terms, the conditions experienced by Yengi, Circati and Souttar have made Australia lose one main striker and two main center backs when facing Indonesia. It is not yet known who will replace their positions in the Australian squad. But what is clear is that whoever is chosen to replace these three players on the field is guaranteed not to have the same level of quality as the players they are replacing. There will still be a big gap in the heart of the Socceroos’ defense for the Garuda boys to dissect. Moreover, when facing Australia, the red and white team has been strengthened by Oxford United striker, Ole Romeny.
Facing Australia who lost two main center backs, Indonesia under the guidance of Patrick Kluivert will most likely use a 4-2-3-1 formation. Different from Shin Tae-yong who likes to use a 3-4-3 formation. With this change in formation, four defenders have definitely been installed to fence off Maarten Paes as the goalkeeper. The four defenders are believed to be Kevin Diks, Jay Idzes, Mees Hilgers and Calvin Verdonk.
Then for the two double pivot slots, it is likely to be filled by Thom Haye and Jairo Riedewald if they have become Indonesian citizens or filled by Ivan Jenner. Then for the three attacking midfielders that are installed, it could be Marcelino on the right wing, Tom Haye as a playmaker and Eliano Reijnders on the left wing. While for the striker position, Ole Romeny will be appointed as the finishing player.
The player prediction for the 4-2-3-1 scheme was made by bringing the names of Justin Hubner and Ragnar Oratmangoen as players who were absent from facing Australia due to red cards and accumulation of yellow cards. But once again, with the composition of players as mentioned above plus the condition of Australia which lost two main center backs and a main striker, it feels very likely for Garuda to grab 3 points at the Socceroos’ home. It is even not impossible for Garuda to win two or three goals without reply. Just like Garuda’s victory record over As Suqur – Saudi Arabia – at SUGBK with a score of 2-0. Hopefully it will happen again, Bro. (Bembo)