Indonesia began their ASEAN Cup campaign with a resounding 5-1 victory over Cambodia at their home ground, Pakansari stadium, yesterday evening. This win marked Indonesia's biggest opening match triumph in 30 years, matching their 5-1 scoreline against Laos in 1996.

Following earlier doubts, Indonesia's dominant performance in the opening match was lauded by local media, who deemed it fitting for a championship contender. The team controlled 67% of possession, registered 26 shots with 13 on target, and achieved a 91% passing accuracy from over 600 passes. "Indonesia looked very imposing," described Bola, a leading sports newspaper in the archipelago nation.

Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) President for the 2023-2027 term, Erick Thohir, at PSSI's extraordinary congress at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on 16/2/2023. Photo: Bola

PSSI President Erick Thohir also praised the performance of Coach John Herdman's squad. However, he assessed Cambodia as not being a true test in the tournament. According to Thohir, Vietnam represents Indonesia's biggest opponent in Group A.

"The opening match was quite good, but Vietnam is the true measure of quality, and this match could be pivotal," Thohir told Indonesian media yesterday evening. "That does not mean we underestimate the next matches against Timor Leste and Singapore."

In their five most recent encounters with Vietnam, Indonesia has won three and lost two. Their last face-off, during the group stage of the ASEAN Cup 2024, saw the archipelago team lose 0-1 at Viet Tri stadium in Phu Tho, though they fielded an U21 squad under Coach Shin Tae-yong.

Vietnam and Indonesia are the two primary contenders for semi-final berths in Group A of this tournament. The group winner will avoid the top team from Group B, which is likely to be Thailand, in the semi-finals. Indonesia currently holds three points, identical to Vietnam, but sits third due to an inferior goal difference (+4 compared to +7). Meanwhile, Singapore leads the group with six points, having played one more match.

Highlights of Indonesia's 5-1 victory over Cambodia in the ASEAN Cup 2026.

Indonesia and Vietnam are scheduled to meet in their fourth group stage match at Pakansari stadium on 3/8. Three days prior, Vietnam will host Singapore, while Indonesia will travel to Thailand to face Timor Leste.

The Indonesian national team will not be using chartered flights, at least during the group stage, despite facing a demanding schedule of one match every three days. Travel arrangements have been meticulously planned to ensure Herdman's squad only requires a single flight, though the journey to Chonburi, Thailand, will still take approximately 10 hours.

"I think it is important for the players to recover their physical fitness so that we can play our best against Vietnam," President Thohir explained regarding the team's schedule.

Coach Herdman also affirmed that squad rotation is imperative, especially as most players have not reached optimal fitness levels, being in their pre-season phase. He also cautioned his players against underestimating Timor Leste, who have suffered 0-7 and 0-2 losses to Vietnam and Singapore respectively, because "a wounded team is very dangerous."

Trung Thu