Indonesia beat Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifiers

By Hoang Nguyen NOV. 19, 2024

Indonesia triumphed 2-0 over Saudi Arabia in an electrifying World Cup qualifier at home, securing three valuable points and climbing to third place in Group C.

Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta (GMT+7)

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November 19
1'

Game on
Indonesia play the game in white and Saudi Arabia in green.
2'

Right after the whistle, Indonesia pushed forward and almost scored when Marselino Ferdinan hit the post with his finish. It could have been a dream start for the host.
5'

Saudi Arabia were surprised and overwhelmed by Indonesia's approach, as the host repeatedly delivered shots toward keeper Ahmed Al-Kassar.

Photo provided to VnExpress
8'

Another relevant scoring chance for Indonesia when Rafael Struick broke the offside trap to face Al-Kassar, but couldn't beat him one on one.
13'

After the first 10 minutes of immense pressure on their opponent, Indonesia started slowing down and Saudi Arabia gradually gained back control, especially in the midfield.
15'

Indonesia are using many long passes that drop behind the back of Saudi Arabia's defense, hoping to break their offside trap and open scoring chances for the strikers.
20'

Saudi Arabia started to play more confident and created more dangerous chances.

Al Qahtani (R) takes a shot inside the box. Photo provided to VnExpress
23'

The referee decided to review VAR for a possible red card after Justin Hubner had a dangerous kick on the head of his opponent following a clearance attempt.

A screenshot shows Justin Hubner's dangerous kick against a Saudi Arabia's player.
25'

The final call is a yellow card for Hubner. Saudi Arabia got a freekick near the box.
29'

A Saudi Arabia player fell down in the box after a finishing attempt, but the ref said no penalty.

After three impressive draws with Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bahrain, Indonesia quickly got back on the ground with defeats against China and Japan, dropping to last in group C. On Tuesday, they play Saudi Arabia again. Their opponent just got a new coach after sacking Roberto Mancini last month and are currently third with six points.

Three points in this game will help Indonesia keep their World Cup dream alive, while Saudi Arabia also need to win to maintain their spot in the top four to advance to the fourth qualifying round.