Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia Preview & Prediction | 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (AFC) | Group C
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After not finishing top of their group in the second round of qualifying, Saudi Arabia are under pressure heading into the third round in a difficult group and cannot afford to slip up vs Indonesia.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: UK – 7:00pm / US ET – 2:00pm / US PT – 11:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – Not televised
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Bet365 & FIFA+ / US – FIFA+
SAUDI ARABIA PREVIEW: SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED
Saudi Arabia would’ve been expected win Group G in the second round of AFC qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, but surprisingly they were pipped to top spot by Jordan on goal difference after both nations finished on 13 points from a possible 18. Scoring only nine goals from six matches ultimately proved key from a Saudi point of view, allowing Jordan the opening.
However, this serves as a good opportunity for Saudi Arabia to put that firmly behind them and they’ll need to do so quickly in a difficult third round group. With games against the likes of Japan and Australia ahead, this is a must-win.
INDONESIA PREVIEW: TOUGH BATTLE AHEAD FOR OUTSIDERS
Indonesia really have nothing to lose heading into this one and with no pressure, their players can at least go out and play with a bit of freedom, although they’ll need to work extremely hard off the ball and be at their very best defensively if they are to stand a chance of getting something from Saudi Arabia.
They ended the second round with a second-place finish in Group F behind Iraq, but with ten points they were comfortably ahead of Vietnam and Philippines after winning three of their six matches played.
SAUDI ARABIA TEAM NEWS: AL-SHAHRANI MISSES OUT THROUGH INJURY
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Al Owais; Hamidou, Lajami, Al Bulayhi; Abdulhamid, Ali, Kanno, Al Juwayr, N Al Dawsari; S Al Dawsari, Al Brikan
UNAVAILABLE: Al-Shahrani (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
INDONESIA TEAM NEWS: PAES EXPECTED TO DEBUT IN GOAL
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Paes; Ridho, Idzes, Hubner; Mangkualam, Ferdinan, Haye, Tjoe-a-On, Verdonk; Struick, Oratmangoen
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
SAUDI ARABIA VS INDONESIA PREDICTION
Saudi Arabia know exactly what they have to do and have no excuse not to go and achieve it. They boast a stronger squad than Indonesia with superior strength-in-depth across the pitch and players with more skill individually. They key is them functioning as a cohesive unit which with such a huge core of domestic players shouldn’t be an issue.
Indonesia will try and make themselves hard to break down but are expected to be overpowered offensively by Saudi Arabia, who with home advantage have to be favoured to win this match by at least two clear goals.
SAUDI ARABIA VS INDONESIA TIP: SAUDI ARABIA TO WIN WITH -1 HANDICAP
