At the Asian Cup earlier this year, Indonesia ended their disappointing winless streak against Vietnam with a 1-0 victory.
This has boosted the confidence of Indonesian fans in their team's ability to defeat Vietnam in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The two home and away matches against Vietnam on March 21 and 26 are crucial for Indonesia to advance to the third qualifying round. Without favorable results against Vietnam, Indonesia will face a high risk of elimination.
Anticipation for the match on March 21 has reached its peak. The Bung Karno Stadium with a capacity of over 88,000 still couldn't meet the demand of Indonesian fans.
According to Okezone, the organizers set four price points for this match: 100,000, 200,000, 400,000, and 750,000 Indonesian rupiah (US$6.50-48).
Indonesian media reported that the cheaper tickets sold out quickly and even the highest-priced ones are now only available in very limited quantities, which means the fans will have to purchase tickets through the black market at high resale prices.
Indonesia are putting all efforts into the upcoming match against Vietnam. They plan to call up 27 players. Recently, Coach Shin Tae Yong traveled to Europe to assess the form of naturalized players.
Vietnam's coach Philippe Troussier has also promised to put together the strongest squad for this critical match.
Bung Karno, the national stadium of Indonesia, is known for its immense pressure from passionate home fans, and Vietnam will meet certain difficulties when playing here. After the match on March 21, Vietnam will return to their home ground My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.