Confident Jay Idzes Says Indonesia Remains Focused Ahead of Japan Clash

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian national football team is set to take on Japan in their final match of the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the Asian zone. The match will take place at Suita City Stadium in Osaka on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, and is scheduled to kick off at 05:35 PM WIB (Western Indonesia Time).

Despite already securing a place in the fourth round, team captain Jay Idzes emphasized that the squad remains focused on the upcoming challenge against Japan. He expressed confidence in Indonesia’s chances of pulling off a win in the away fixture.

“Opmtimistic? Yes, of course,” Jay said following a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at Kertanegara, Jakarta, on Friday, June 6, 2025, as quoted by Antara.

Indonesia booked their spot in the next round following a narrow 1-0 victory over China on Thursday at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan. The decisive goal came from Ole Romeny via a penalty. With 12 points and one match remaining, Indonesia holds second place in Group C. Both Bahrain and China, sitting at six points each, are no longer in contention to catch up.

The Garuda squad’s advancement was further solidified when Bahrain fell 0-2 to Saudi Arabia at home on the same day, leaving Bahrain in fifth place and unable to gain the three points needed to challenge Indonesia’s standing.

Meanwhile, Japan sits at the top of Group C with 20 points and has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup. However, they are coming off a surprising 0-1 loss to Australia in Perth on Thursday, June 5, where they conceded in the final minute of regulation. That result elevated Australia to second place with 16 points.

Jay Idzes confirmed that there are no major issues within the squad ahead of the match.

“We're going to focus on the last game because it is still important. But for sure we are really happy that we already qualify for the next round. So, we still have one more game and it's important for us,” said the player affectionately known as Bang Jay among Garuda fans.

A win against Japan could see Indonesia leapfrog into third place in the group, as they trail Saudi Arabia by just one point.

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