Indonesia's coach is not yet thinking about the Vietnam team, focusing on defeating Cambodia

Indonesia's head coach John Herdman aims to overcome Cambodia on July 27 before considering the match against Vietnam on August 3.

According to the latest news, key Indonesia national team player Marselino Ferdinan will undergo a fitness test before the team's first match in Group A of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 against Cambodia on Monday, after suffering a minor injury during a training session in Bogor.

Coach John Herdman said the 21-year-old striker, who plays for Oxford United, will be assessed for his fitness before the coaching staff decides whether he can play against Koji Gyotoku's team at Pakansari Stadium.

"We will monitor and manage his condition over the next few days. Hopefully Marselino will undergo a fitness test today or tomorrow to determine his ability to play," Herdman said.

"Marselino is a very resilient young player. He has gone through some difficult periods recently, but he has a very strong spirit and always desires to be on the pitch."

Indonesia, a team that has never won the tournament, will play its first match at the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 after being exempt from the opening round. Meanwhile, Cambodia lost 1-2 to Singapore in a heartbreaking defeat after a stoppage-time goal in Phnom Penh last Friday.

This is also Indonesia's first match since the international series in June. The players are in the process of regaining fitness after the end-of-season break with their clubs, which has led coach Herdman to focus more on perfecting the team's style of play.

"As a national team, we must focus on our own performance and trust in the preparation we have done.

Cambodia has played one match, so they will have good match rhythm and be ready for the encounter. However, what we care about is tactical identity, cohesion, coordination, and team spirit.

We must believe that if we play to our best ability at the moment, the team will have a chance to achieve a positive result. We have studied Cambodia. They are a well-organized, disciplined group and will be a very tough opponent.

Nevertheless, right now the most important thing is to focus on the Indonesia national team and what we can build together. We must take the first steps together and hope that what the whole team contributes will be enough to defeat Cambodia."

On the Cambodian side, coach Koji Gyotoku's team will enter the match in Bogor after a 1-2 defeat to Singapore due to a superb stoppage-time goal by Ilhan Fandi. Nevertheless, the team from the Land of Temples still wants to build on the positives they showed at home.

"We just played Singapore two days ago, so we don't have much time to prepare for the match against Indonesia," the Japanese tactician said.

"It's a pity that we didn't get the desired result against Singapore. The whole team prepared very well for the opening match, but now we have put that defeat behind us and are fully focused on the clash with Indonesia."