John Herdman Aims for Indonesia's First Win over Oman in 38 Years

JAKARTA - Indonesian national team coach John Herdman is aiming for the Garuda squad's first victory over Oman in 38 years when they meet in a FIFA friendly match at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta, Friday (5/6).

"We haven't beaten Oman in 38 years, and that's our challenge," Herdman told a pre-match press conference at the SUGBK, Thursday.

The English tactician also hopes that fans can fill the SUGBK and give full support to his squad in the match.

Quoted from the 11v11 website, Indonesia and Oman have met six times, with the Garuda team winning twice, namely in 1987 and 1988 at the King's Cup. These two matches were won by Indonesia with a score of 2-0 and 3-0.

At the last meeting in 2021, Indonesia, coached by Shin Tae-yong, lost 1-3 to Oman in a friendly match.

Herdman himself assessed the match against Oman was not an ordinary friendly match. Because, for him, the match was an opportunity for Indonesia to show its level on the Asian stage.

In the FIFA rankings, Oman is in 79th place, while Indonesia is in 122nd place.

"This is not just a friendly match. This is an opportunity for us to show that Indonesia is a serious competitor in the AFC," said Herdman.

In addition, Herdman also said that the match would be used to continue positive things as well as improve something that was still lacking from the first two matches in the FIFA Series 2026 at the end of March.

"One of the shortcomings is very clear. We didn't produce enough shots on target despite having great control of the game. We also didn't put enough players in the penalty box and don't have enough quality of attack in important areas," he said.