JAKARTA - Former Indonesian national team striker and former Persebaya Surabaya coach, Muhammad Mamak Alhadad, believes the 2026 World Cup has the potential to be one of the most exciting editions in history. This is because there is a chance that the emergence of surprise teams will be wider open.
According to Mamak, the results of the early matches show that the gap in quality between the participating teams is no longer as large as it was decades ago. He cited the victory of the host Mexico in the opening match which showed how non-technical factors can have a big influence in a World Cup-class tournament.
"The match has only been going on for a few games, but it's already interesting enough. Mexico as the host was able to win 2-0. This reminds us of the time when Saudi Arabia made a surprise defeat against Argentina. That is, in football, it's not always the big teams who will win," said Mamak.
Mamak assessed that the advantage of playing in front of their own public was an important capital for Mexico to go far. In addition to supporter support, the factor of introducing the field and the atmosphere of the match can also be an added value that the guest team does not have.
On the other hand, the former Indonesian national team striker in the 1980s highlighted the presence of two world football icons, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are expected to undergo their last World Cup in their careers.
"We can still see Ronaldo with Portugal and Messi with Argentina. This is likely to be the last World Cup for both of them so of course they will try to show their best game," he said.
However, Mamak emphasized that football cannot be judged only by the big names or the number of star players a team has. According to him, there are many factors that determine a country's success in a short tournament like the World Cup.
He explained that there are four main elements that determine victory, namely technical ability, physical condition, tactics, and mental combat.
"Sometimes a team has players with incredible skills, but is weak tactically or mentally. There are also teams that are strong individually, but not solid as a unit. That's why football is so complex," he said.
Mamak said many observers favored European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Germany, and traditional South American powers such as Argentina and Brazil. However, he reminded that the history of the World Cup has proven many times that predictions can be wrong.
"The team that is considered a little lower in class is not necessarily defeated. That is why the World Cup is always interesting. There will be surprises and hopefully the black horse this time will come from Asia," he said.
Mamak also saw the development of Asian football as promising. He specifically highlighted South Korea's performance which he said showed excellent game organization.
"What makes me happy is that South Korea as the representative of Asia was able to show a good team game. The attacking organization, the defensive organization, until the transition of the game went well," he said.
The former Persebaya coach assessed that the strength of modern football no longer depends on one star player. Rather, the ability of the coach to read the game or reading the game becomes a differentiating factor.
According to Mamak, the current coach must be able to understand the individual strengths of the players, the cooperation between the lines, to the character of the team's overall game before determining the strategy.
"If the team has strong stamina, they can play pressing. If you have players with high skills, maybe you rely more on individual creativity. It all depends on the ability of the coach to read the potential of his team," he said.
He also explained why star players sometimes fail to shine at the World Cup despite performing brilliantly at club level. One of the causes is the tight defense of the opponent.
"Great players can't develop because they get layered or tight marking. Moreover, this is the World Cup, all opponents have high quality and mature preparation," he said.
Therefore, Mamak considers team cooperation to be more important than dependence on one player. When a star gets special attention from an opponent, other players must be able to take advantage of the space created.
Regarding the candidate for the champion, Mamak considers it too early to draw conclusions because all participants have not played their matches. However, he hopes that the final match will bring together representatives of Latin America and Europe because it will present very high quality matches.
"If the final brings together Latin America against Europe, it will certainly be very interesting. But if Asia can make a surprise and reach the final, it will be a big story for world football," he said.
For Indonesia, Mamak assessed that the 2026 World Cup must be used as an important learning material in efforts to pursue the competitive level of major countries. He emphasized that the main foundation for the advancement of national football lies in the quality of domestic competition.
"Indonesia is being repaired. What must be considered is how to create a healthy and quality competition. From a good competition, great players will be born who will later be able to bring Indonesia's name to the world level," he said.
Mamak gave an example of Japan's development, which he said had succeeded in building a strong foundation through improving competitions and consistently coaching young players. He believes Indonesia can follow in the footsteps if the process of developing football is carried out sustainably.
"Japan has learned from other countries and is now an Asian football power. Indonesia can also develop in that direction if the competition continues to improve," said Mamak.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
