FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026: Herdman Proud as Indonesia Defeated Singapore, Romeny Scores Once Again

Indonesia National Team secured a 2-0 victory over Singapore in the opening Group A fixture of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK), Jakarta. Head coach John Herdman expressed pride over this result, while Ole Romeny was delighted to score once again for Garuda Squad.

Indonesia opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Ragnar Oratmangoen, who finished off an assist from Luke Vickery.

Singapore were reduced to 10 men shortly after when Safuwan Baharudin received a straight red card. Indonesia capitalised on this numerical advantage to extend their lead in the 74th minute via an Ole Romeny penalty kick.

For Herdman, this win against Singapore proved the squad's ability to adapt to changing match circumstances.

The English coach observed periods where Indonesia executed their game plan perfectly, but also spells where fatigue set in and the players had to work to regain their match rhythm.

"We knew there would be moments where everything clicks smoothly on the pitch, but also times where exhaustion kicks in. The players had to adjust to match conditions, manage jet lag, push through the fatigue and refind their collective flow. I believe they did that really well tonight," stated Herdman during the post-match press conference.

Alongside the three points, Herdman had another cause for satisfaction: Indonesia completed the match without conceding a single goal.

"And once again we recorded a clean sheet. By my count this is the fourth, possibly fifth consecutive clean sheet for the team," the coach added.

Elsewhere, Ole Romeny was pleased with his contribution to the victory. This penalty marked his 7th international goal in just 11 appearances for the Indonesian national side.

6 out of Romeny's 7 goals for Indonesia have been scored at home fixtures, with Gelora Bung Karno proving to be his most productive ground while representing the Red and White squad.

Romeny insisted this goalscoring run is not down to luck. He cited hard work, team confidence, the quality of his teammates and structured attacking build-up as the core factors behind his form.

"I don't believe this is good fortune. This is the result of the work we put in, the belief we carry, playing alongside talented teammates, and executing the right attacking movements to create goals," he stated.

Romeny added that he is eager to keep playing in front of the GBK home crowd to help push the team deeper into the tournament.

"I'm just really happy to have scored again. Right now I want to enjoy every match we play at this stadium, and keep moving forward as a group," he added.

This victory earned Indonesia 3 points and puts them in 2nd place on the provisional Group A standings. Garuda Squad sit directly below Malaysia, who lead the group following their 3-0 win against Bangladesh.

The top two sides in Group A will face off directly in the next match round. Indonesia will host Malaysia at Gelora Bung Karno on Monday 28 September, with kick-off scheduled for 19.30 WIB.

For both Herdman and Romeny, this opening win provides a strong foundation. Indonesia head into the Malaysia fixture carrying three valuable points, a solid defensive record, and Romeny's current confidence in front of goal.