Indonesia’s AFF 2026 Failure: Erick Thohir Defends John Herdman’s Predecessors

Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) chairman Erick Thohir offered an interesting response following the national team’s disappointing AFF 2026 campaign, pointing instead to the contributions of John Herdman’s predecessors as head coach.

Indonesia’s campaign at the AFF 2026 Championship came to a premature end after a draw against Singapore in their final group-stage match left Thom Haye and his teammates unable to reach the semi-finals.

It marked the second consecutive AFF Championship in which Indonesia failed to advance from the group stage. Questions have consequently begun to emerge over John Herdman’s performance as head coach.

Erick Thohir, however, has seemingly continued to back Herdman. He believes every coach who has taken charge of the Indonesian national team has always tried to deliver the best possible results.

“Of course, in this context, we also have to appreciate all of the national team coaches. Whether it was Coach Indra Sjafri, Coach Nova, Coach Shin Tae-yong, Coach Patrick or Coach John Herdman,” Erick Thohir said.

“They have all done their best and given everything they could.”

At the 2024 AFF Championship, Indonesia, then managed by Shin Tae-yong, also failed to progress from the group stage, a result that eventually led to the South Korean coach’s dismissal.

However, the disappointing campaign was largely considered understandable by Indonesian football fans because the squad was dominated by young players.

The situation was different at the 2026 AFF Championship. Herdman was given the opportunity to work with Indonesia’s strongest available squad, including the country’s best players competing in the domestic league and 11 naturalised players.

Despite that, Erick Thohir has not rushed to dismiss the English coach. Herdman will instead be given another opportunity to deliver results at next month’s FIFA ASEAN tournament.

“PSSI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports will support the targets set for each of our coaches. The FIFA ASEAN Championship has been included on the FIFA Matchday calendar in September and October, so we are certain that all of our best players will be available to play,” he added.

“And, of course, we hope the team can achieve the best possible results.”