REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo is grateful that the Indonesian national team got a point after a goalless draw against Australia in the second match of Group C of the Third Round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifier Asia Zone. The Socceroos were unable to hit Indonesia's goal guarded by Maarten Paes at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (10/9/2024) night.

“We are grateful, thank God we have one more point. After yesterday with Saudi Arabia we got one point, this with Australia got one more point,” President Jokowi told the press after watching the Indonesia vs Australia match.

Jokowi appreciated the hard work of the Indonesian players in the match so as to hold Australia to a draw which is ranked well above Indonesia in the world rankings. Australia ranks 24th in FIFA, while Indonesia ranks 131st.

In particular, Jokowi also appreciated the performances of Maarten Paes who several times managed to break chances from Australia.

“I think it was an incredible game with the hard work of all the players, especially the goalkeeper,” Jokowi said.

The president also expects the accumulated points to continue to safeguard Indonesia's chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals.

“We expect with savings of one point, one point, maybe later it can be three points, this is what we expect,” the president said.

Currently, the Indonesian team is held in the top four of the standings while Group C is the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualification in the Asian zone.

Unbeaten Indonesia in the third round of Asian zone qualifiers has now packed two points from the two games it has been through, while Australia take fifth place with a notch of one point.

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