Indonesia national football team

Beginning years

The early matches, involving sides from the Dutch East Indies, were organised by the Nederlandsch Indische Voetbal Bond (NIVB), or its successor, the Nederlandsch Indische Voetbal Unie (NIVU). The matches that were run prior to the nation's independence in 1945 are not recognised by the PSSI (the Football Association of Indonesia).

The first recorded football match that involved a team from the Dutch East Indies was a contest against a Singapore national team on 28 March 1921. The match was played in Batavia and Indonesia won with a final score of 1–0. This was followed by matches against an Australian XI in August 1928 (2–1 victory) and a team from Shanghai two years later (4–4 draw).

In 1934, a team from Java represented the Dutch East Indies in the Far Eastern Games that was played in Manila, Philippines. Despite defeating the Japan national team, 7–1, in its first match, the next two matches ended in defeats (2–0 to the China national team and 3–2 to the host nation) resulting in a second-place tournament finish for the Java national team. Although not recognised by PSSI, these matches are treated by the World Football Elo ratings as the first matches involving the Indonesian national side.

1938 FIFA World Cup

The Dutch East Indies were the first Asian team to participate in the FIFA World Cup, when the team qualified for the 1938 tournament after its opponent, Japan, withdrew from the qualification heats. The 6–0 loss to eventual finalists, the Hungary football team, in the first round of the tournament in Reims, France, remains the nation's only appearance in the World Cup.

1950s

After the Second World War, followed by the Indonesian National Revolution, the highlight of the football history of independent Indonesia occurred at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The team forced the Soviet Union national football team to a nil-all draw, but lost 0–4 in the replay match, The Soviet Union later was successful in attaining the gold medal. This remains the country's only appearance in the Olympics.

In 1958, the team tasted its first World Cup action as Indonesia in the qualifying rounds. The team defeated China in the first round, but subsequently refused to play its next opponents, the Israel national team, for political reasons. The team subsequently suffered a ban from the FIFA World Cup that lasted from 1958 to 1970 resulting from its political situation.

Shortly after, the Indonesian team won the bronze medal at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan. Indonesia beat the India national team, 4–1, in the third-place match. The team also drew, 2–2, with the East Germany national team in a friendly match.

1960–1984

During this period, the Indonesian team lifted the Merdeka Tournament trophy in victory in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on three occasions (1961, 1962 and 1969). Indonesia were also champions of the 1968 King's Cup in Bangkok, Thailand .

Indonesia returned to World Cup qualification competition in 1974; however, the team was eliminated in the first round, with only one win, from six matches, against the New Zealand national team. During the 1978 qualification heats, the Indonesian team only won a single match, out of four matches, against host team, Singapore. Four years later, in 1982, Indonesia recorded two victories in qualifying matches (from eight matches), against the Chinese Taipei national team and the Australia national team.

1985–1995

The 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification round saw a better performance for Indonesia, as the nation's team advanced from the first round with four wins, one draw and one loss, eventually finishing at the top of its group. However, the South Korean national team emerged victorious over the Indonesians in the second round.

The team also reached the semi-final of the 1986 Asian Games after beating the United Arab Emirates national team in the quarter final; but the Indonesians then lost to hosts, South Korea. The Indonesian team also lost to the Kuwait national football team, 5–0, in a third-place match.

A milestone during this era was the gold medal victory at the Southeast Asian Games in both 1987 and 1991. In 1987, the Indonesians beat the Malaysian national football team, 1–0; while in 1991, the team beat the Thailand national football team, 4–3, in a penalty shoot-out.

In the 1990 qualification, the Indonesian team lost in the first round, with only one win against Hong Kong, three draws and two defeats. The team also only managed a single victory against the Vietnam national team in the 1994 qualification round.

Asian Cup

Indonesia's first appearance in the AFC Asian Cup was against the United Arab Emirates in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. During the tournament, Indonesia only scored a single point from a 2–2 draw against Kuwait in the first round. In that match, striker Widodo C Putro, gained fame for scoring a renowned goal with a bicycle kick. The team's second appearance in the Asian Cup was in Lebanon in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup; again, the Indonesian team gained only one point from three games, and, again, from a match against Kuwait that finished without a score from either side.

Indonesia eventually established a better record in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, beating the Qatar national football team, 2–1, to record the team's first ever victory in the history of the tournament. Nevertheless, the win was not enough for the Indonesian team to qualify for the second round.

The team's participation in 2007 was especially notable, as Indonesia acted as one of four co-hosts of the tournament. The national team proceeded to defeat the Bahrain national football team, 2–1, in the first match; however, the next two ties proved tough, as the Indonesians faced Asian giants, Saudi Arabia, as well as South Korea. Despite decent performances, both ties ended in narrow 1–2 and 0–1 defeats – thus sealing the Indonesian team's fate as third-place achievers in the group.

World Cup qualification

In the 1998 World Cup qualification matches, the Indonesian team decisively defeated Cambodia, 8–0, in the opening match. The team only lost a single match when visiting Uzbekistan, but drawing four other matches meant that the team failed to advance any further.

Indonesia recorded a better performance in the 2002 qualification round, beating Maldives and Cambodia, in home and away matches, respectively. The team shared the same points and the group leader position with China, but lost both home and away matches against China, leading to the elimination of the Indonesian team. China eventually advanced to the 2002 World Cup.

Four years later the Indonesians finished third in the second round of the 2006 World Cup qualification group, with two wins, one draw and three losses. Group winner, Saudi Arabia, later advanced to the 2006 World Cup.

ASEAN Football Championship

Also during this era, Indonesia achieved a decent record in the ASEAN Football Championship (AFF Championship), reaching the final on five occasions (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2016), albeit never managing to lift the trophy victoriously. The team's claim of regional titles came in the Southeast Asian Games of 1987 and 1991.

It was perceived that, immediately following the historic 2004 Asian Cup campaign, Indonesia might be on the verge of a more prominent stature in the ASEAN football scene. Under the guidance of former Aston Villa and England striker, Peter Withe, the Southeast Asian outfit appeared to be capable of continuing its success in terms of football development and FIFA World Rankings. However, the Indonesians failed on the group stage of the ASEAN Football Championship, and, on 18 January 2007, Withe was immediately sacked; he was replaced by Bulgarian, Ivan Venkov Kolev.

After the Withe era, the inability to fulfil the ASEAN target has been cited as the reason for Indonesia's "revolving door" in terms of team managers. Over the course of two years, the Indonesia national team's manager changed from Kolev to local coach, Benny Dollo, who was in turn sacked in 2010. The head coach position was then held by Alfred Riedl, former national coach of Vietnam and Laos; however, Riedl failed to lift any cups during his time and in July 2011, he was replaced by Wim Rijsbergen.

The 1998 Tiger Cup controversy

The regional 1998 ASEAN Football Championship tournament is considered infamous in respect to Indonesian football history. In what was supposedly a sporting event, the group stage match between Thailand and Indonesia was marred by an unsportsmanlike attempt. At the time, both teams had already qualified for semi-finals, but both were also aware that the winner would be required to face hosts, Vietnam, while the losing team would play the supposedly weaker Singapore national team. A further issue involved moving training bases from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for the team that eventually faced Vietnam; such a transfer was not desired by any of the relevant teams.

The first half was mostly uneventful, as both teams barely made attempts to score goals. During the second half, both teams managed to score, partly because of half-hearted defending, resulting in a 2–2 tie after 90 minutes of play. However, the actual incident did not occur until extra time, when Indonesian defender Mursyid Effendi deliberately kicked the ball into the Indonesian's own goal, as a Thai attacker ran towards the ball. FIFA fined both teams $40,000 for "violating the spirit of the game", while Effendi was banned from domestic football for one year and international football for a lifetime.

In the semi-finals, Thailand lost to Vietnam, and Indonesia also lost to Singapore, pitting the teams together once again for the third-place playoff. Indonesia eventually won in a penalty shoot-out; in the final, Singapore, considered the underdog, shocked audiences by defeating Vietnam.

2012 Suspension

In March 2012, the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) received a warning for the divided state of Indonesian football, whereby two separate leagues existed: the rebel Super League (ISL), which isn't recognised by the PSSI or FIFA, and the Premier League (IPL). The National Sports Committee (KONI) encouraged the PSSI to work collaboratively with Indonesian Football Savior Committee (KPSI) officials to rectify the situation, but KONI chairman, Toto Suratman, stated, in March 2012, that KONI will take over the beleaguered PSSI if matters are not improved. FIFA did not state whether Indonesia would face suspension, but on 20 March 2012, FIFA made an announcement. In the lead-up to 20 March 2012, the PSSI struggled to resolve the situation and looked to its annual congress for a final solution. The PSSI was given until 15 June 2012 to settle the issues at stake, notably the control of the breakaway league; failing this, the case was to be referred to the FIFA Emergency Committee for suspension.

FIFA eventually set a new 1 December 2012 deadline and in the two weeks preceding the deadline, three out of four PSSI representatives withdrew from the joint committee, citing frustrations in dealing with KPSI representatives. However, FIFA stated that it would only issue a punishment to Indonesian football after the Indonesian national squad finished its involvement in the 2012 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.

2013 Era of Dualism

In 2013, the president of PSSI, Djohar Arifin Husin signed MoU with La Nyalla Matalitti (KPSI-PSSI) that was initiated by FIFA and the AFC through the Asian Football Confederation's Task Force. Since then, the control of Indonesia Super League was taken by Joint Committee to remain manageable by PT Liga Indonesia until the establishment of a new professional competition by the committee. This means the Indonesian players from ISL were able to play and join the national team. The PSSI called players from both football leagues, ISL and IPL to fortify the national team for Asian Cup qualifier of 2015. On 7 January 2013, PSSI announced a lists of 51 players from both side football leagues regardless of whether players from the breakaway Indonesia Super League (ISL) would make an appearance, allegedly ISL clubs were reluctant to release players because they doubted Djohar's leadership. During the friendly match, Indonesia lost 0–5 to Jordan and lose 0–1 to Iraq in 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

The PSSI appointed Luis Manuel Blanco of Argentine as the head coach on 9 February 2013.

On 18 March 2013, The PSSI held the Extraordinary Congress which turned out to make very positive outcomes. This congress were held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both parties, PSSI and KPSI (breakaway group) solved their differences in four contentious points; such as; Reunification of two leagues; Revision of the PSSI Statutes; Re-instatement of the four expelled PSSI Executive Committee members La Nyalla, Roberto Rouw, Erwin Dwi and Toni Aprilani; and Agreement of all parties to the Memorandum of Understanding from 7 June 2012 on the list of delegates to the PSSI Congress based on the list of the Solo Congress of July 2011.

As of 2014, Indonesia Super League (ISL) returned to be the top league of the country consists of total 22 teams (18 teams from ISL and 4 teams from Indonesia Premier League).

The new Indonesia "PSSI" called 58 players from both sides leagues (ISL and IPL) for the national squad. Rahmad Darmawan returned as the caretaker coach for the senior team and his friend, Jacksen F. Tiago was also in-charge as the assistant coach. Both Rahmat and Jaksen trimmed the 58 players initially called for national training to 28. The list would then be trimmed again to just 23 players for the Saudi Arabia match. Victor Igbonefo, Greg Nwokolo, and Sergio van Dijk the three naturalised players were on the final list.

On 23 March 2013, the Reunification Indonesia senior team show positive performance at recent match with Saudi Arabia which were narrow defeat. The new Indonesia's Timnas only loss 2–1 to their counterpart, Saudi Arabia of AFC Asian Cup qualification at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Boaz Solossa the man who give Indonesia a first goal at their long running campaign at AFC Asian Cup qualification; the home team start with the goal in the sixth minute but the more experienced Saudi Side fought back with the equaliser off Yahya Al-Shehri in the 14th minute before Yousef Al-Salem the scored what turned out to be the winner on 56 minute.

On 14 April 2013, The PSSI cleared out all the coaching staffs from all the teams. Those coaches affected were senior national team coach Nil Maizar, national assistant coach Fabio Oliveira, national goalkeeper coach Hariyanto, national Under-23 coach Aji Santoso, national U23 assistant coaches Widodo Cahyono Putro and Listiadi as well as national U19 coach Indra Syafri. The National Team Management (BTN), under La Nyalla Matalitti was the one in-charge for choosing the new coaches for all the teams.

2015 Suspension

The Indonesian Football Association was suspended by FIFA because of government interference in the Southeast Asian country's national league on 30 May 2015. The ban took effect immediately and meant that Indonesia would not be eligible to compete in the next round of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup, starting less than two weeks later. However FIFA did allow Indonesia U-23 national team to play at the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore because the tournament had already started. FIFA took action against Indonesia following a row between local government and the football association which has resulted in the cancellation of the domestic competition.

The suspension was lifted at the 66th FIFA Congress.

2017 New Era

A few weeks after finishing second in the ASEAN Football Championship, The Indonesian Football Association held a congress on the 8th of January in efforts to sign Luis Milla to handle their senior and U-22 team. It is understood as well that they are also making significant changes in their domestic football league system and attempting to minimize the number of naturalization players in 2 years time.

Kit

During the Dutch colonial era, the team competed as Dutch East Indies in international matches and played in an orange jersey, the national colour of the Netherlands. There are no official documents about the team's kit, only several black-and-white photos from the match against Hungary in the 1938 FIFA World Cup; but unofficial documents stated that the kit consisted of an orange jersey, white shorts and light blue socks. Since Indonesia's independence, the kit consists red and white, the colours of the country's flag. A combination of green and white has also been used for the away kits, and was used for the team's participation in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, until the mid-1980s.

The 2010–2012 home kit became an issue when the Indonesian team played against an opponent wearing an all-white uniform. The solution was solved with a red-green-green combination (for away games), or an all-red uniform (for home games). On 8 September 2011, the Indonesia U-19 team wore the old colour combination, with a red shirt and white shorts, as usual, but team members used red socks, usually used in training, when the team forced a draw against Laos in the AFF U-19 Youth Championship in Myanmar. The combination used many times in the future, for example by the Indonesian U-22 team in the first match of the 2013 AFC U-22 Asian Cup group E qualifiers against Australian U-22 on 5 July 2012. A combination also exists for away colours. The Indonesian U-23 team wore white home socks when they faced Persebaya 1927.

On 12 November 2012, a week prior to the start of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, Indonesia released its new home and away kits, again designed by Nike. The home kit returned to the red-white-red combination, as was the case in 2008, and the away kit consisted of a white-green-white combination. "The green colour brings a historical touch as the national team in the 1950s wore green shirts," Nike Indonesia marketing manager, Nino Priyambodo, said. "We hope it can inspire the national team for better performances in the future."

Builder Kit

FIFA World Cup

 • Note: In the 1938 FIFA World Cup, Indonesia is part of the Dutch East Indies colonial organisation.

Olympic Games

(Under-23 team since 1992)

Asian Games

(Under-23 team since 2002)

AFF Championship

This competition was formerly known as the Tiger Cup

South East Asian Games

(Under-23 team since 2001)

Official Matches

Below is a list of matches detailing Indonesia's matches against FIFA-recognised teams.

Current Squad

The following 23 players were called up for the 2016 AFF Championship.

Caps and goals updated as of 17 December 2016 after the match against Thailand.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Indonesia roster within the last 12 months.

Notes:

Records

As of 17 Dec 2016

Note:

International

Continental

Regional

Others