PSSI denies that Rizky Ridho was not called up by John Herdman for the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup.

PSSI has denied reports claiming that Rizky Ridho has been dropped from the Indonesia national football team squad for the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup. PSSI Secretary General Yunus Nusi confirmed that this information holds no valid basis, as he has not received any official player list from head coach John Herdman as of the time of statement.

Reports of Ridho being removed first circulated after football observer Ronny Pangemanan, widely known as Ropan, stated that the 24-year-old centre-back was not included in Herdman's selection for the Southeast Asian international tournament scheduled to begin in late September.

However, PSSI confirmed that no official squad submission has been received from the coaching team.

"Yes, as far as I can tell this is simply hoax information. Until now I have not signed off on, nor even seen any squad proposal or player name list submitted by John Herdman. Administratively, all player registrations are required to pass through the Secretary General, and I have received no such documents to date," Yunus stated firmly in South Jakarta on Wednesday.

This statement also confirms that Rizky Ridho's official status for the Indonesia national team at the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup has not been formally finalised.

PSSI Has Not Received Player List

Yunus added that the tournament player registration administrative process has not yet reached the PSSI Secretary General's office. This means there is no official grounds to conclude Ridho has been dropped from the squad.

"As of right now, no coach has submitted any list of names for the FIFA ASEAN Cup squad," Yunus stated.

This clarification refutes claims that Herdman had already decided which players would be excluded from the tournament. PSSI remains waiting for official submission from the coaching team before the final squad members can be confirmed.

This situation also means Ridho still retains an open chance to represent the Indonesia national team for the tournament.

Ridho Was A Regular Starter At The 2026 AFF Cup

Speculation regarding Ridho being dropped emerged following public scrutiny of his performances for Indonesia during the 2026 AFF Cup.

Ropan had argued that the centre-back should be rested from upcoming fixtures after Indonesia failed to qualify for the semi-finals, finishing only in third place of their group stage.

He specifically highlighted Ridho's performances during Indonesia's 0-3 defeat to Vietnam and the 1-1 draw against Singapore.

Despite the criticism, Ridho remained one of Indonesia's most frequently fielded players across the entire tournament. Out of four total matches, he only missed one fixture: the second group stage match against Timor Leste.

He played the full 90 minutes in all three other matches he featured in.

These appearances bring Ridho's total senior national team cap count to 54, following his debut in May 2021 during an international friendly against Oman under then-head coach Shin Tae-yong.

2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup Preparations Underway

Indonesia will act as host nation for the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup. The Garuda squad are placed in Main Division Group A alongside Malaysia, Singapore, and Bangladesh, who was confirmed as India's replacement in the tournament line up.

Meanwhile Group B consists of Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.

This tournament marks one of the key priority agendas for Indonesia under John Herdman's leadership. For this reason, the final squad composition has become a major point of public attention.

As host nation, Indonesia has prepared the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK) Jakarta and Si Jalak Harupat Stadium Bandung as official match venues.

With no official squad list yet submitted by Herdman, reports of Rizky Ridho being dropped can currently only be confirmed as unsubstantiated rumour.