Why the Whole World Is Talking About Indonesia's National Team

On 5 October 2026, Indonesia beat Thailand at Gelora Bung Karno — 2–2 after extra time, 4–2 on penalties — to become the first-ever champions of the FIFA ASEAN Cup. FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Prabowo Subianto handed the trophy to captain Kevin Diks. The stadium screen showed 70,098 spectators; FIFA's own reaction article said 60,000. Within two days, the world was talking. FIFA's World Cup account posted "Indonesia are the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026™ WINNERS!", and FIFA published a story recalling the 1997 SEA Games and 2002 AFF Cup finals that Indonesia lost to Thailand on penalties in the same stadium. Clubs in Germany, the Netherlands, England, Spain, France, Italy and Australia congratulated their Indonesia players — even Sassuolo, whose Jay Idzes missed the whole tournament through injury. Not every headline was a celebration. In The Guardian, John Duerden argued that Indonesia "did Infantino a huge favour by winning a tournament" — an analysis of football politics, not of the result on the pitch. A week after the final, Infantino posted about Indonesia again. Five days after the final, Thierry Henry was at Gelora Bung Karno for a legends match; eight days after it, Calvin Verdonk came on for Lille at Arsenal and became the first Indonesia international to play in the Champions League league phase. Next: the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia — Japan (11 January), Qatar (16 January) and Thailand again (20 January). The final against Thailand:    • The Team Indonesia Built 11,000 km Away Ju...   Calvin Verdonk's story:    • Calvin Verdonk Missed the Penalty at 17. A...   Kevin Diks, the captain:    • Kevin Diks Asked to Play Striker. Then He ...   How Indonesia built this team:    • Indonesia Built Its National Team 11,000 k...   Was 5 October the start of a new era, or the peak? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more stories like this. Chapters: 00:00 The world noticed 00:32 The night FIFA came to Jakarta 02:27 FIFA rewrites the story 03:30 Europe celebrates its own 04:33 King of ASEAN 05:49 The votes behind the trophy 06:59 Five days, eight days Sources: FIFA.com (final report; 'Verdonk: This is a new era for Indonesia'; Cools and Arif Aiman interviews), FIFA match data, @FIFAWorldCup on X, The Guardian (John Duerden, 7 Oct 2026), UEFA, AFC, Kompas, CNN Indonesia, Okezone, Viva, tvOne, detik, bola.com, Bernama, The Daily Star, Football360, Wikipedia (attendance total: our calculation). Infantino's and the clubs' posts are paraphrased from Indonesian media reports. Photos: Wikimedia Commons (credits below). 3D globe: Goalden Sport, NASA 'Earth at Night' (public domain). Graphics: Goalden Sport. Thumbnails: real photos. La Grande Indonesia at the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Laily Rachev · Public domain Dignitaries at the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final (01).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Laily Rachev · Public domain Dignitaries at the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final (02).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Laily Rachev · Public domain Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium interior.jpg · RasyaAbhirama13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Group photo of Indonesia national football team.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Indonesia vs. China (AFC Asian Qualifiers Road to 26).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Indonesia-China 5 June 2025 01.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Indonesia-China 5 June 2025 03.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Indonesia-China 5 June 2025 12.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Indonesia-China 5 June 2025 14.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Indonesia-Bahrain 25 March 2025 13.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Rusman · Public domain Indonesia-Bahrain 25 March 2025 17.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Rusman · Public domain Indonesia-Bahrain 25 March 2025 03.jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Rusman · Public domain Kevin Diks (Indonesia-Bahrain 25 March 2025).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Emil Audero (Indonesia-China 5 June 2025).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Jay Idzes (Indonesia-China 5 June 2025).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Ole Romeny (Indonesia-China 5 June 2025).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Muchlis Jr · Public domain Maarten Paes (Indonesia-Australia 10 September 2024).jpg · BPMI Sekretariat Presiden/Vico · Public domain Calvin Verdonk (Indonesia-Philippines 11 June 2024).jpg · Timnas Indonesia · CC BY 3.0 John Herdman WC2022.jpg · Hossein Zohrevand · CC BY 4.0 Elkan Baggott 01082026 (6).jpg · Timmy96 · CC0 Jakarta skyline at dusk from Central Jakarta, Indonesia.jpg · Secretdriver · CC BY-SA 4.0 #TimnasIndonesia #Indonesia #FIFAASEANCup #Football #Garuda