Indonesian National Team Scores 9 Goals, John Herdman Reveals the Secret Behind Garuda's Quick Goals

Indonesia National Football Team did far more than just run up the scoreline when they dismantled Bangladesh 9-2 at the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup. Behind this lopsided victory at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK) Jakarta, head coach John Herdman had a surprisingly simple method to build his players' confidence for scoring goals in rapid succession.

Indonesia found the net nine times in total, including two goals scored barely one minute apart late in the fixture: Kevin Diks struck in the 90+6th minute, before Mitchell Baker added another exactly 60 seconds later.

The Garuda Squad also responded instantly after Bangladesh registered their first goal through Shahriar Emon in the 36th minute. Just 60 seconds after conceding, Baker hit back once again to stretch Indonesia's lead back out.

Herdman revealed he had challenged his players to visualise just how many goals they could register in very short windows of match time.

"During training the day before, we ran a drill and I asked them straight: 'How many goals do you think we can score in 30 seconds?'" the coach stated during the post-match press conference at GBK.

The players' answer did not convince Herdman at first. But the training exercise ended up exceeding all initial expectations.

"They said three. I told them that sounded impossible. Then we actually scored three goals in 37 seconds. That's when the belief clicked for them," he explained.

For Herdman, this drill was never just about polishing finishing technique. There was a deliberate mental message built into it: players must trust that goalscoring opportunities can arise at any moment, and they have to capitalise immediately when they appear.

This mentality was on full display throughout the match. Even when faced with difficult, momentum-shifting moments, Herdman noted his side never abandoned confidence and kept pushing forward aggressively.

One such test arrived late in the game, when Bangladesh pulled a second goal back. This followed a last-minute revision to second half added time, which was suddenly increased from the originally signalled 2 minutes to 7 minutes.

Herdman confirmed this unannounced change caused his players to lose focus momentarily. However he stressed that unplanned errors during matches are a normal part of football that can affect any team.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. When the board first went up showing two additional minutes, everyone inside this stadium knew there had been a mistake. There had already been multiple VAR stoppages before that point," he stated.

Herdman went on to detail what unfolded once the bench realised the added time had been altered.

"We checked with the fourth official: 'Is this an error?' and he confirmed it was. But right at that exact moment Bangladesh scored, because our boys were confused, they had mentally switched off already," the coach added.

Yet this setback only highlighted another core strength of the Garuda Squad. Immediately after conceding that late goal, Indonesia cranked up attacking pressure once again and produced those two rapid closing goals.

"That was a really rough moment for us. But just look at how this group responded. Their reaction was absolutely incredible," Herdman said.

Those late strikes from Diks and Baker became the clearest demonstration of this mentality. Indonesia refused to let their momentum slip, closing out the match with the 9-2 result and officially locking in their spot in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final.

With this victory, Indonesia will face Thailand in the tournament decider. Thailand have already secured their position as Group B winners, even with one final group fixture still remaining on their schedule.

The 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup final will be hosted at GBK on Monday 5 October, kicking off at 20:00 WIB. After proving they can find the net in mere seconds, the Indonesia National Team now face an entirely different test as they aim to lift the trophy and conclude the tournament on a high.