Asian Qualifiers: Haye proud to be part of Indonesia’s history

The Heerenveen midfielder opened the scoring for the Indonesians in their 2-0 victory over the Philippines in Jakarta on Tuesday as Shin Tae-yong’s side picked up the victory required to advance to the next phase of the competition as runners-up in Group F.

While the country appeared at the FIFA World Cup Finals in 1938 when known as the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia have not qualified for the tournament since gaining independence from the Netherlands in 1949 but are currently one of the continent’s rising forces.

Iran topped the group ahead of Uzbekistan due to a superior goal difference with head coach Amir Ghalenoei keen to praise his players for overcoming difficult traveling conditions as well as Uzbekistan’s rise in recent years.

The 1-1 draw with Oman in their final Preliminary Joint Qualification – Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ on Tuesday sealed the Central Asian side second spot in Group D, which also confirmed their entry to the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Finals.

Japan concluded their campaign with six straight wins and no goals conceded but Moriyasu knows the third round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers will be much more challenging and expects his players to remain sharp.

The 1-0 defeat made for a nervous wait with focus shifting to Thailand’s match against Singapore but the Southeast Asian side, needing to win by three clear goals, fell just short in a 3-1 victory, enabling China PR to seal a spot in the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers and a place at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Finals.

The victory meant a perfect campaign of six wins, with 22 goals scored and none conceded but Arnold was quick to remind his squad of the similar situation they had been in for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, with Australia ultimately booking their place in the Finals through playoffs.

The 68-year-old Argentine, a former centre-back who had coaching spells in Argentina, Europe and West Asia, leaves his post with immediate effect having taken over from Hussam Al Sayed in February 2023.

On a riveting showdown of qualifying action, China PR, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Kuwait and Kyrgyz Republic joined Matchday Five qualifiers’ Bahrain, Jordan, Korea Republic, Oman, Palestine and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after Australia, Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan had earlier confirmed their spots after Matchday Four in March this year.

Kuwait (Group A), DPR Korea (Group B), China PR (Group C), Kyrgyz Republic (Group D) and Indonesia (Group F) were the final five sides to book their spots in the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers and confirm their tickets to the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Finals after Matchday Six.