# Indonesia national football team
The **Indonesia national football team**, nicknamed **Timnas Garuda** after the national emblem, is the men's football team of Indonesia, governed by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It holds a distinction no other Southeast Asian team shares: competing as the [Dutch East Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/dutch-east-indies), it was the first Asian side to play at a [FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-world-cup), in France in 1938, and it remains the region's only World Cup participant.[1](https://www.fifa.com/id/tournaments/mens/worldcup/articles/asia-indonesia-piala-dunia-1938) • [2](https://seasiastats.com/statistic/the-best-achievements-of-men-national-football-teams-from-southeast-asia-5hLLK)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Governing body | Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), FIFA member, AFC confederation; president Erick Thohir[3](https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/IDN) |
| World Cup | First Asian participant, 1938, as the Dutch East Indies; lost 0-6 to Hungary in the opening round[1](https://www.fifa.com/id/tournaments/mens/worldcup/articles/asia-indonesia-piala-dunia-1938) • [4](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/) |
| Olympic football | One appearance, 1956, reaching the quarter-finals[3](https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/IDN) |
| AFC Asian Cup | Reached the round of 16 for the first time at Qatar 2023, its first qualification in 17 years[4](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/) |
| FIFA ranking | 130th as of 24 October 2024; third-highest Southeast Asian team by July 2026, behind Thailand (94th) and Vietnam (99th)[4](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/) |
| Head coach | John Herdman, appointed 3 January 2026, after Patrick Kluivert (from 8 January 2025) and Shin Tae-yong[5](https://berkas.dpr.go.id/pusaka/files/info_singkat/Info%20Singkat-XVII-20-II-P3DI-Oktober-2025-232-EN.pdf) |
| Recent title | Inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup champions, October 2026, beating Thailand 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 final[6](https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/news/asean-cup-erick-thohir-indonesia-2-2-thailand-southeast-asia) |
## The 1938 World Cup and the Dutch East Indies
Indonesia's first appearance on the world stage came under a colonial name. The team entered the [1938 FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/1938-fifa-world-cup) in France as the Dutch East Indies (Hindia Belanda), and it was the first Asian country to participate in the tournament.[1](https://www.fifa.com/id/tournaments/mens/worldcup/articles/asia-indonesia-piala-dunia-1938) • [7](https://repositori.kemendikdasmen.go.id/24583/1/OLAHRAGA%20DEMI%20MENGANGKAT%20NAMA%20BANGSA%20INDONESIA%20TUAN%20RUMAH%20ASIAN%20GAMES%201962.pdf) The squad's captain was Achmad Nawir, a player who wore glasses.[1](https://www.fifa.com/id/tournaments/mens/worldcup/articles/asia-indonesia-piala-dunia-1938) The campaign ended in the opening round with a 0-6 defeat to Hungary.[4](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/)
**Colonial-era organization.** Preparation for the 1938 tournament ran through a cooperation agreement, a so-called gentlemen's agreement, signed on 15 January 1937 between the Dutch colonial football body NIVU and PSSI. PSSI unilaterally canceled the agreement at its congress in Solo in 1938.[9](https://mpr.go.id/img/majalah/file/1644905859_file_mpr.pdf) • [10](https://eprints.uny.ac.id/14877/1/Chabib%20Al%20Chasan.pdf) In late January 2018, FIFA acknowledged that the Dutch East Indies team that played in 1938 is the Indonesia national team, formally linking the colonial-era appearance to the modern side.[9](https://mpr.go.id/img/majalah/file/1644905859_file_mpr.pdf)
## Post-independence record
After independence, Indonesia continued to appear in international competition. Its single Olympic football appearance came in 1956, where the team reached the quarter-finals.[3](https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/IDN) Under the Yugoslav coach Antun Pogacnik, who led the team from 1954 to 1963 and again in 1977, Indonesia won the 1960 AFC U-20 Championship, took bronze at the 1958 [Asian Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/asian-games), and drew against the Soviet Union at the 1956 Olympics.[5](https://berkas.dpr.go.id/pusaka/files/info_singkat/Info%20Singkat-XVII-20-II-P3DI-Oktober-2025-232-EN.pdf) Growing achievements of the national team through the early 1950s helped build public and government enthusiasm that carried Indonesia to hosting the 1962 Asian Games.[7](https://repositori.kemendikdasmen.go.id/24583/1/OLAHRAGA%20DEMI%20MENGANGKAT%20NAMA%20BANGSA%20INDONESIA%20TUAN%20RUMAH%20ASIAN%20GAMES%201962.pdf)
In FIFA tournaments the record since then is thin: 14 World Cup qualifying campaigns, the most recent being the 2026 cycle; one [FIFA U-20 World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-u-20-world-cup) appearance in 1979, exiting at the group stage; and two [FIFA U-17 World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-u-17-world-cup) appearances, in 2023 and 2025, both ending in the group stage.[3](https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/IDN) In the AFF/[ASEAN Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/asean-championship) the team has repeatedly reached finals without winning, making it the side with the most final losses in Southeast Asian football history.[11](https://seasia.co/2026/08/01/ranking-the-most-successful-football-teams-in-asean-championship-history)
## The naturalization program
The defining feature of the team's recent rise is naturalization. The government and PSSI use naturalization as a strategy to improve the national team by inviting players with international careers to strengthen the Garuda squad, and FIFA permits a player to represent a new federation when there is a blood link through a parent or grandparent.[12](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1595501/full) • [13](https://www.hma-hi.com/en/bongda/fcb5bf7362ef43ae.html) Most of the recruited players are of Indonesian descent and were born and raised in the Netherlands, the former colonial power; in the October 2024 World Cup qualifier against China PR, nine of the eleven starters were Netherlands-born players, all of whom debuted for Indonesia in 2023 or later, and many had represented the Netherlands at youth level.[4](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/)
The scale has grown quickly. Indonesia's squad for the 2026 regional tournament contained seventeen naturalized players, and one match saw the team field a starting eleven made up entirely of naturalized players, which one Southeast Asian football account described as the first time in history a regional national team had done so.[13](https://www.hma-hi.com/en/bongda/fcb5bf7362ef43ae.html)
The policy is debated inside Indonesia. A qualitative study of 52 media articles from major national outlets published between January 2022 and April 2025 found that some coverage frames naturalization as a pragmatic way to raise performance, while other coverage raises concerns about local player development and national identity; players such as Klok and Amat are credited with adding leadership and defensive experience that addressed previous vulnerabilities.[12](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1595501/full) Analysts also caution that cohesion, a shared language, and coordinated off-ball movement decide knockout matches, and that a squad assembled quickly from diaspora players has limited minutes playing together.[14](https://www.serradupage.org/en/v/95f6b5ae39207343.html)
## Recent campaigns and coaching changes
**2026 World Cup qualifying.** Under South Korean coach [Shin Tae-yong](https://www.edgepedia.org/shin-tae-yong), who had guided Korea Republic to the 2018 World Cup, Indonesia exceeded expectations in the third round of the AFC Asian Qualifiers, taking draws against Saudi Arabia (1-1), Australia (0-0), and Bahrain (2-2) in its first four matches despite being ranked 130th, the lowest of the six teams in Group C.[4](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/) On 8 January 2025, PSSI appointed [Patrick Kluivert](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-kluivert) as head coach, replacing Shin Tae-yong while the team competed in the third round.[5](https://berkas.dpr.go.id/pusaka/files/info_singkat/Info%20Singkat-XVII-20-II-P3DI-Oktober-2025-232-EN.pdf) The campaign ended in elimination in October 2025, after a 1-0 loss to Iraq and a 2-3 home loss to Saudi Arabia; earlier in the round Indonesia had beaten Bahrain 1-0, China 1-0, and Saudi Arabia 2-0, while losing 5-1 to Australia and 6-0 to Japan.[15](https://www.themovieblog.com/2026/07/is-indonesia-the-next-football-giant-in-southeast-asia/) • [16](https://www.liga.id/kualifikasi-piala-dunia-asia/klub/indonesia/fixtures/)
**2026 coaching change and ASEAN Cup.** Later that year Indonesia hosted and won the inaugural [FIFA ASEAN Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-asean-cup), the first FIFA tournament for the region, defeating Thailand 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the final before FIFA President Gianni Infantino; it was the third FIFA tournament Indonesia had hosted since 2023, following the U-17 World Cup and the [FIFA Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-series).[6](https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/news/asean-cup-erick-thohir-indonesia-2-2-thailand-southeast-asia)
## References
1. [Indonesia, Jejak Pertama Asia di Panggung Dunia, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/id/tournaments/mens/worldcup/articles/asia-indonesia-piala-dunia-1938)
2. [The Best Achievements of Men National Football Teams from Southeast Asia, Seasia Stats](https://seasiastats.com/statistic/the-best-achievements-of-men-national-football-teams-from-southeast-asia-5hLLK)
3. [Football Association of Indonesia, Inside FIFA](https://inside.fifa.com/en/about-fifa/associations/IDN)
4. [Scouting report: Indonesia National Team, AFC Asian Qualifiers Road To 26, Japan Football Association](https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/worldcup_2026/final_q_2026/news/00034507/)
5. [Recruitment and Governance of National Team Coaches, P3DI DPR RI Info Singkat](https://berkas.dpr.go.id/pusaka/files/info_singkat/Info%20Singkat-XVII-20-II-P3DI-Oktober-2025-232-EN.pdf)
6. [FIFA ASEAN Cup to benefit entire region says Erick Thohir, Inside FIFA](https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/news/asean-cup-erick-thohir-indonesia-2-2-thailand-southeast-asia)
7. [Olahraga Demi Mengangkat Nama Bangsa Indonesia, Kemendikdasmen repository](https://repositori.kemendikdasmen.go.id/24583/1/OLAHRAGA%20DEMI%20MENGANGKAT%20NAMA%20BANGSA%20INDONESIA%20TUAN%20RUMAH%20ASIAN%20GAMES%201962.pdf)
8. [A. Fuller, academic paper on Indonesian football history](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/62138/1/352.pdf.pdf)
9. [Majalah MPR, historical football photos and 1938 agreement](https://mpr.go.id/img/majalah/file/1644905859_file_mpr.pdf)
10. [Chabib Al Chasan, UNY thesis on PSSI and the Gentlemen's Agreement](https://eprints.uny.ac.id/14877/1/Chabib%20Al%20Chasan.pdf)
11. [Ranking the Most Successful Football Teams in ASEAN Championship History, Seasia.co](https://seasia.co/2026/08/01/ranking-the-most-successful-football-teams-in-asean-championship-history)
12. [Constructing national identity: media narratives on the naturalization of football players in Indonesia, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1595501/full)
13. [Indonesia's All-Naturalised XI: Southeast Asia's Inverted Map, HmaHi Football](https://www.hma-hi.com/en/bongda/fcb5bf7362ef43ae.html)
14. [The All-Naturalized Line-up and the Identity Question in Indonesian Football, Serradu Page](https://www.serradupage.org/en/v/95f6b5ae39207343.html)
15. [Is Indonesia Becoming Southeast Asia's Next Football Giant by 2030?, The Movie Blog](https://www.themovieblog.com/2026/07/is-indonesia-the-next-football-giant-in-southeast-asia/)
16. [Jadwal & Hasil Indonesia, World Cup Qualification Asia, Liga.id](https://www.liga.id/kualifikasi-piala-dunia-asia/klub/indonesia/fixtures/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Records and substantive reference › National team records and statistics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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