Jay Idzes Focuses On Facing Japan, But The Real Battle Is In The Fourth Round

JAKARTA - The captain of the Indonesian National Team (Timnas), Jay Idzes, is optimistic that Indonesia will win against Japan in the last match of Group C of the Third Round of the 2026 Asian Zone World Cup Qualification.

The match between Japan and Indonesia will be held at the Suita Stadium on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, afternoon WIB.

"Yes, definitely (optimistic). Starting today we will focus on the match against Japan," said Jay Idzes.

Even though the Indonesian national team had already qualified for the fourth round, Jay said the team remained focused on achieving the best results when facing Japan.

"The position? Nothing. Of course we know the match against Japan. We will focus on preparing for the last match because this is also an important match," said Jay.

In addition to continuing to focus on matches against Japan that do not affect the standings, Jay Idzes emphasized that the real fight for the Indonesian national team will only start at the Fourth Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

"One step by one, we are moving forward. We secured our place in the playoffs. Now the real fight is starting," Idzes wrote on his personal Instagram account.

Before facing Japan, the Garuda Squad beat China 1-0 at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday, June 5, 2025, thanks to Ole Romeny's penalty goal.

The result was sufficient to seal the ticket for the 2026 World Cup Qualification Fourth Round.

The fourth round will be played in October 2025 in a centralized place. A total of six teams that qualify for this round will be divided into two groups.

The first match was played on October 8, 2025, then October 11, 2025 for the second match, and October 14, 2025 for the third match.

From the Fourth Round, the two group winners qualified automatically for the 2026 World Cup, while the two runners-up will be pitted to proceed to the Fifth Round.