The 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup will be the true litmus test for John Herdman. After failing to take the Indonesian National Team past the group stage of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup, the English head coach now has a chance to prove that the Garuda squad can learn from failure, and turn that setback into driving force to compete for the tournament trophy.
This opportunity becomes even more viable as the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup is held within the official FIFA Matchday calendar. This means Indonesia will have far greater eligibility to call up all of its best players, including those who play professionally overseas.
Herdman himself has described this tournament as an opportunity to assemble Indonesia's finest players with the clear goal of winning the competition.
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Circumstances are very different compared to the 2026 ASEAN Hyundai Cup. During that earlier tournament, Herdman fielded mostly domestic league players as part of his squad evaluation process. Indonesia ultimately failed to qualify for the semi-finals after drawing 1-1 against Singapore, finishing in 3rd place of Group A with 7 total points.
The situation is different this time.
With access to the full strength national squad, the standard that Herdman must deliver will also be raised accordingly.
Garuda must win.
Prior to this, Indonesia had already successfully advanced to the fourth round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. This round is the final stage before the fifth round pathway that leads to the World Cup play-off matches.
If Indonesia can compete at the level of the World Cup Qualifiers fourth round, it is only reasonable that far better results are expected from an ASEAN regional tournament when fielding the full best squad.
Herdman's current position became the main discussion topic on the ITSMe Podcast recorded at Sentul Studio, Bogor, featuring football analysts Ronny Pangemanan and Erwin Fitriansyah. The podcast was hosted by Gilang Respaty and Pudila.
This challenge is not only about raw player quality. Herdman must prove he can merge all this individual top talent into one cohesive, effective functioning team.
The failure against Singapore already outlined exactly what issues need to be fixed. Indonesia controlled possession and created scoring chances, but could not protect their lead. Herdman has emphasised the critical importance of emotional discipline, match focus, and eliminating small avoidable errors.
Singapore once again sits at the centre of this narrative. The very team that just eliminated Indonesia from the ASEAN Hyundai Cup will be the clearest benchmark to measure whether Herdman has actually implemented meaningful improvements.
If Indonesia again dominates matches statistically but fails to secure wins, public and institutional scrutiny towards Herdman will grow significantly. Conversely, if Garuda can deliver effective winning performances, the earlier tournament failure will be recognised as a deliberate part of the development process.
John Herdman now has the opportunity to field the full strength Indonesian National Team at an ASEAN level competition, with the squad already carrying valuable competitive experience from reaching the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
For this reason, the FIFA ASEAN Cup is no longer just a stage for learning. This is the moment for Herdman to prove that Indonesia can win.
