The 0-6 defeat to Japan has given coach Patrick Kluivert a tough job in strengthening the organization and depth of the squad.
At first glance, the defeat was better than China's 0-7 defeat at Saitama Stadium nine months earlier. But that time China created one chance when Indonesia failed to create one.
The big defeat, as Kluivert admitted, showed the wide gap in quality between Indonesia and Japan.
And indeed, from a ranking perspective alone, Indonesia, which is currently ranked 118th, is far below Japan which is ranked 16th.
Japan is only a few dozen points behind Germany and Uruguay, two of the eight countries that have won the World Cup.
The Blue Samurai are also one of two Asian teams to break into the top 20 of the FIFA rankings, even surpassing the Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden who were once World Cup runners-up.
The Blue Samurai are also above Denmark and Greece who have won the European Cup, as well as above Egypt, Nigeria and Cameroon who are regular African champions.
Here, losing to a giant team with players who play in Europe's top leagues is not too surprising. It must be admitted, Indonesia is inferior to Japan.
But the class difference must be shortened immediately considering that in the next four months Garuda will again face teams that are stronger in terms of ranking, experience and head to head .
The good news is that the fourth ranking of Arab countries who are potential opponents for Indonesia in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers is not as far apart as the ranking difference between Indonesia and Japan.
