Indonesia's coach expressed one thing upon losing the FIFA tournament championship

Coach John Herdman claimed that Indonesia was truly the superior team over Bulgaria even though they suffered a 0-1 defeat.

Indonesia's national team coach, John Herdman, expressed disappointment after his team lost to Bulgaria in the FIFA Series 2026. He felt Indonesia performed better. The host team had to accept the bitter reality of being defeated 0-1 by Bulgaria at the main Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Monday evening (30/3/2026).

Bulgaria scored the decisive goal through a penalty by Marin Petkov in the 37th minute, resulting from a foul by wing defender Kevin Diks.

"We can draw positive aspects from tonight's performance regarding collective effort. We were determined to play with strong physical intensity," John Herdman said during the post-match press conference.

The Indonesian team truly dominated the match. According to Football Field Notes, Jay Idzes and his teammates controlled 71% of possession compared to 29% for the opponent. Overall, Indonesia made 6 shots. However, only 1 was on target. 3 other shots missed the goal and two were blocked.

John Herdman later compared the FIFA rankings of the two teams. Most recently, Indonesia's national team was ranked 121st, while Bulgaria was ranked 86th. However, Coach John Herdman did not hesitate to congratulate Bulgaria. He viewed this defeat as a lesson, especially since he has only been coaching Indonesia's national team for a short time.

"It's unfortunate that we didn't capitalize on our opportunities. Bulgaria is ranked 88th in FIFA, but Indonesia's national team played better," John Herdman said. "Congratulations to Bulgaria for winning. They maintained the pace of the match, which is a good result for them. This is a lesson, no matter how painful," he added.

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