The Indonesian National Team is Stronger Than Before

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Japanese national team coach Hajime Moriyasu asked his players to be wary of a difficult match when facing hosts Indonesia, in the third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the Asian zone in Group C, Friday (15/11/2024), starting at 19.00 WIB.

The Japanese national team currently leads Group C with 10 points, five points ahead of the three teams behind Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bahrain. Since the second qualifying round, Japan has shown extraordinary strength, winning nine of 10 matches, scoring 39 goals and conceding only once.

In the FIFA rankings, Japan leads Asia with 15th position in the world, 115 places higher than Indonesia.

Japan last beat Indonesia 3-1 in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup. However, Moriyasu is wary of a difficult battle when facing Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK), Senayan, Jakarta.

“Indonesia has strength that it has never had before,” said Moriyasu.

“That power is built and consolidated in various ways,” he continued.

According to the 56 year old coach, the Indonesian National Team has a dynamic football culture. The current strength of the national team comes from a collection of mixed-race players, especially from the Netherlands, who play in European leagues. “Quality players fill the main squad, making Indonesia a different and stronger team than before,” praised Moriyasu.

Facing the Indonesian National Team, Moriyasu summoned 27 Jeoang players for training sessions since early November. Of the number of players called up, 22 of them play in Europe.

Squad The elite of the Samurai Blue team include Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), and Wataru Endo (Liverpool). However, Japan lost striker Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), who was injured.

Ueda scored two goals in the win over Indonesia in the 2023 Asian Cup.

Apart from that, Japan also called up veteran player Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo). The 38-year-old former Inter Milan defender is confident that Japan can overcome Indonesia.