Speaking to Indonesian media during the team's training camp in Bali, Herdman assessed that Group A would be challenging as opponents are constantly strengthening their squads with naturalized players. "I heard the Vietnamese team has five Brazilian-born naturalized players. Cambodia has 10. That is interesting and also a challenge for us," the English coach stated.

Coach John Herdman's debut with the Indonesia national team in Jakarta, 13/1/2026. *Photo: PSSI*

The Vietnamese national team's roster for the ASEAN Cup 2026 includes only three Brazilian-born naturalized players: Nguyen Xuan Son (Rafaelson), Do Hoang Hen (Hendrio), and Nguyen Tai Loc (Geovane Magno). Le Giang Patrik, who has both Vietnamese and Slovakian heritage, completed his naturalization process earlier this year.

Despite the numerical error, Herdman did not criticize Vietnam's naturalization policy. The 51-year-old coach simply views it as a factor intensifying competition in Group A.

Indonesia is in the same group as Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Timor Leste. Cambodia will be Herdman's team's first opponent on 27/7, before they face Vietnam on 3/8.

Xuan Son's header went wide in the 30th minute during the friendly match between Vietnam and Myanmar at Thai Nguyen Stadium on 18/7/2026. *Photo: Luong Hieu*

Cambodia will also participate in the ASEAN Cup 2026 with only five naturalized players, not 10 as Herdman stated. These are Hikaru Mizuno, Yudai Ogawa (Japan), Alisher Mirzaev (Uzbekistan), Iago Bento (Brazil), and Abdel Kader Coulibaly (Ivory Coast).

Herdman, 51, an Englishman, previously coached the Canada national team at the 2022 World Cup, where they lost all three matches against Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco. He began leading Indonesia in early 2026 under a two-year contract.

The Indonesia national team has been training in Bali since 5/7 and is expected to return to Jakarta this weekend for final preparations. Herdman announced he would release the official squad list after the team leaves Bali.

The English coach decided to keep 26 players on the provisional squad list, even though regulations permit only 23 players to be registered for each match. This means Indonesia will rotate and drop three players before each game, creating intense internal competition for spots within the team.

According to Indonesian media, two goalkeepers likely to secure spots are Nadeo Argawinata and Cahya Supriadi, who have been training with the team since the start of the camp. In midfield, Herdman highly regards Ivar Jenner, citing his development at the Ajax Amsterdam and FC Utrecht academies. "Ivar's experience greatly benefits the team. He is confident, constantly improving, and plays better every time I work with him," the Indonesia coach stated.

The ASEAN Cup 2026 will take place from 24/7 to 26/8. Vietnam plays its opening match today at 8:30 PM, against Timor Leste at a neutral venue in Thailand.

Xuan Binh (according to CNN Indonesia)