"Every day I wake up, everything I'll be thinking about is qualifying this team for a World Cup." That's John Herdman, the man who took Canada to their first World Cup in 36 years, now tasked with doing something similar for Indonesia. He didn't take this job to win a regional tournament in Phnom Penh.
The ASEAN Cup is underway, and while the trophy matters, it's functioning as a dress rehearsal. Asian qualification for the 2030 World Cup starts next year, and Southeast Asia's leading nations are treating this as the first real competitive miles in that campaign.
Indonesia are the team to watch
Indonesia opened with a 5-1 dismantling of host Cambodia — emphatic enough to suggest Herdman has something to work with. A 19-year-old Australian-born debutant named Mitch Baker scored a hat-trick on the night he became an Indonesian citizen. That's a headline that writes itself.
Indonesia's naturalization program is running at pace. Baker and compatriot Luke Vickery both went through citizenship ceremonies in Jakarta in July alone. Erick Thohir, who doubles as Minister of Youth and Sports and head of the Indonesian football federation, was courtside for Baker's ceremony. When a government minister attends a player's passport signing, that tells you how seriously this is being taken.
Indonesia came closest from the region to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. They've never won the ASEAN Cup despite six final appearances in 15 editions. Both of those facts matter — they're good enough to threaten, not yet good enough to close.
The wider picture for Southeast Asian football
Vietnam, the defending champions, are coached by Kim Sang-sik, a man who played at the 2006 World Cup with South Korea and clearly hasn't forgotten what that felt like. Thailand, seven-time winners of this tournament and Group B favorites, are under Anthony Hudson, who's openly talking about the weight of expectation from a fanbase that's been waiting too long.
ASEAN Football Federation president Khiev Sameth believes a Southeast Asian side qualifying for 2030 is "increasingly attainable." Whether that holds up against the brutal arithmetic of Asian qualifying remains the real question — but the infrastructure, the ambition, and the coaching appointments suggest this isn't just optimistic federation-speak anymore.
- Indonesia vs Timor Leste — Friday
- Indonesia vs Vietnam and Singapore — next week
- Semifinals: top two from each group advance
- Final series: August 22 and 26
After the ASEAN Cup wraps, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam all shift focus to the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, which kicks off January 7. The tournament schedule is relentless, which is exactly how Herdman wants it. A team that never stops playing is a team that keeps improving.
If you're pricing up Asian World Cup qualification markets ahead of next year's campaign, Indonesia with Herdman at the helm is a very different proposition to the one that narrowly missed out on 2026. The squad is being built deliberately, the coaching is legitimate, and the government is financially committed. That's a combination that moves the needle.
