A crowd of 23,677 people gathered at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium as if witnessing the appearance of the "new Garuda" that Indonesian national team coach John Herdman had repeatedly promised since its introduction in January.
Slowly but surely, the style of play Herdman envisioned is beginning to emerge within the Garuda team. It's not perfect yet, but many agree that the 3-0 victory over Oman was Indonesia's best performance under the English coach.
The victory also ended Indonesia's poor record against Middle Eastern teams. Previously, the Garuda team had not beaten Oman in 38 years. Interestingly, Indonesia's last victory over Oman came in 1988 by the same scoreline, 3-0.
Equally important, this victory was achieved over a team ranked 79th in the world, or 43 places higher than Indonesia, which is ranked 122nd in the FIFA rankings.
These results demonstrate that FIFA rankings don't always reflect a team's true strength on the pitch. Oman coach Tarik Sektioui expressed a similar view, arguing that differences in rankings don't always reflect the true gap in quality.
"Their current ranking doesn't reflect the true quality of their game, especially with the developments in recent years," Sektioui said in a press conference after the match at SUGBK on Friday.
Dominant. That's the word that best describes the match. Indeed, Lapangbola statistics show Indonesia only had a slight advantage in possession, with 57 percent compared to Oman's 43 percent.
However, anyone who watched the match would have understood that the Garuda team completely controlled the game. Despite this, Indonesia wasn't at its best due to the absence of several key players such as Jay Idzes, Thom Haye, Miliano Jonathans, Mees Hilgers, and Marselino Ferdinan.
This dominance was reflected in their attacking prowess. Indonesia had 10 shots, six of which were on target, and three of them resulted in goals through Justin Hubner in the 13th minute, Ole Romeny in the 27th minute, and Ragnar Oratmangoen in the 56th minute.
Not only did the front line perform impressively, but the defense also deserved praise. The center-back trio of Rizky Ridho, Elkan Baggott, and Justin Hubner performed solidly in a 3-4-3 formation, even without the command of captain Jay Idzes, who was absent due to injury.
However, Indonesia's back line wasn't completely flawless. Several gaps were still visible for the opposition to exploit. One such gap occurred when Hubner was late in making a tackle on Oman's right-back, Amjad Al-Harthi, inside the penalty area.
Singaporean referee Muhammad Taqi unhesitatingly pointed to the penalty spot. The decision was punishment for the Fortuna Sittard defender's reckless behavior.
