(Photo FAM/PSSI./AFF)
There was plenty of drama in the conclusion of Group A of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 as late goals earned Indonesia a spot in the final ahead of Malaysia on Thursday.
Two stoppage time goals saw Indonesia defeat Bangladesh 9-2 to overtake Malaysia – who won 6-0 against Singapore – with both teams finishing on seven points and with the same goal difference but John Herdman’s side advanced on goals scored.
Indonesia hit the front early on in impressive style. Ole Romeny wriggled clear down the right in the 11th minute and cut the ball back to Mitchell Baker, who sent a precision first-time finish beyond goalkeeper Mehdi Srabon.
Baker got his second nine minutes later, backheeling the ball in after a goalmouth scramble.
Rizky Ridho’s 32nd minute powerful strike made it 3-0, before Shahriar Emon’s header pulled one back for Bangladesh four minutes later.
Indonesia were unrelenting, though, and restored their three-goal advantage in the 37th minute when Baker tapped in to complete his hat-trick.
The 19-year-old striker quickly bagged his fourth, powering in a superb header five minutes later. Indonesia made it 6-1 on the stroke of half-time when Justin Hubner converted from Calvin Verdonk’s corner.
Indonesia kept up the pressure after the break and Bangladesh keeper Srabon made stunning saves to keep out efforts from Kevin Diks and Elkan Baggott.
Indonesia finally got a seventh, with Luke Vickery on target in the 90th minute, but Bangladesh netted an instant reply a minute later through Farhaan Ali Wahid to make it 7-2.
With the Malaysians 6-0 ahead at this point, Indonesia needed to strike twice in stoppage time to edge them on goals scored. Diks gave them hope with a close-range effort, before Baker completed the scoring to send them to the final and spark scenes of jubilation.
With Malaysia knowing that they had to chase goals, they wasted little time in getting on the front foot against their Causeway Derby rivals, with Bergson putting them in front from the spot after just eight minutes.
Midway through the half, they doubled the lead as some fine work from Manuel Hidalgo in the 26th minute saw him jink past several defenders and square for an onrushing Stuart Wilkin to sweep home from the top of the six-yard box.
As the goals continued to flow in Indonesia’s match, Malaysia needed to respond in kind, and they did just that as Arif Aiman teed up a second for Bergson two minutes after the hour mark.
A thumping fourth from Paulo Josue in the 76th minute made things tighter, but with Indonesia hanging on to their lead in Jakarta, Malaysia still needed some sort of a miracle.
Remarkably, they got it, as firstly Syahir Bashah grabbed a fifth in the 87th minute, and then Bergson thundered home a stoppage-time sixth.
With this fixture ending before Indonesia’s game in Jakarta, Malaysia celebrated wildly, only to watch on in disbelief as the Garuda scored two at the death to crush their hopes on an extraordinary evening.
