Indonesian media collectively react after a 2-3 defeat to Saudi Arabia

Indonesian media voice disappointment over their national team’s inability to defeat Saudi Arabia in the 4th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Late on October 8th, the Indonesian national team suffered a narrow 2-3 loss to Saudi Arabia in the 4th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The Southeast Asian side scored early but could not hold on to their advantage.

Following the match, the country’s media uniformly expressed regret that the team could not secure a better result. Bola wrote: "Playing at King Abdullah Sport City, Kevin Diks scored two penalties for Indonesia’s national team. Firas Al-Buraikan also netted twice, and Waheb Saleh added one goal.

Despite winning, the host Saudi Arabia appeared unsettled throughout the match. In stoppage time of the second half, referee Ahmed Al-Ali issued two red cards. The first red card was shown to substitute Mohamed Kanno, who received a second yellow for disputing the referee’s decision.

This incident caused tension on the field. A Saudi referee later protested, prompting the referee to issue an additional red card. Unfortunately, the Indonesian team was unable to capitalize on their late second-half advantage to at least equalize",the article commented.

Meanwhile, CNN Indonesia analyzed that all three goals conceded by the Garuda team resulted from players’ mistakes: "All three goals scored by Saudi Arabia in their 3-2 victory over Indonesia’s national team originated from errors made by Garuda players.

Saleh Al Shamat’s first goal came from Marc Klok’s mistake in the 17th minute. Klok’s poor pass fell to Musab Al Juwayr, who then assisted Saleh, who beat Maarten Paes with a shot from outside the box.

Saudi Arabia’s second goal came from a penalty by Firas Al Buraikan in the 36th minute. Kuwaiti referee Ahmad Al Ali awarded the penalty after VAR review following a foul by Yakob Sayuri.

The third goal for Saudi Arabia, scored by Firas in the 62nd minute, occurred because Yakob failed to anticipate Firas’s movement when the ball rebounded.""

In the next match, coach Patrick Kluivert’s team will face Iraq. If they fail to win, Indonesia is likely to be eliminated early.

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