John Herdman says the players are ready to give their absolute all in the final, adding that the final end result is something that lies outside of their control.

Indonesia National Football Team head coach John Herdman has reaffirmed that he holds no control over the final outcome of any match. Wins, losses, or championship titles are not guarantees he can make before a fixture kicks off.

For Herdman, football contains far too many variables that fall outside a coach's authority. Everything from referee decisions to plain chance can shape how a match concludes.

This is why there is one single core focus for Herdman as Indonesia prepare to face Thailand in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup Final, hosted at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK) in Jakarta at 20:00 WIB on Monday evening.

His only demand is that every player gives their absolute maximum effort from the opening whistle right until the final blow.

"This team will walk into Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium ready to leave everything they have on the pitch for this country," Herdman stated during the official pre-match press conference on Sunday.

This commitment is the promise Herdman has made to the entire Indonesian football community. This comes as GBK is set for a roaring full house, after all 67,000 available match tickets were confirmed sold out.

Herdman's First Final With Indonesia

This clash against Thailand marks the first competitive final John Herdman will contest since taking charge of the Indonesia national team 10 months prior.

It is not only the head coach entering uncharted territory. The vast majority of the Garuda Squad will also be making their first ever appearance in a senior title-deciding match.

Herdman admitted he is excited for this biggest fixture of his Indonesia tenure so far, however he has repeatedly reminded his squad to keep emotions under control and show proper respect to opponents Thailand.

According to the coach, finals demand extreme discipline. Allowing emotion to take over mid-match will cause even the most carefully prepared pre-match strategies to collapse on the pitch.

This same message was echoed by Kevin Diks. The Borussia Mönchengladbach defender has been named stand-in captain for Indonesia, replacing Jay Idzes who is ruled out through injury.

Diks warned his teammates not to lose focus, noting that finals are almost always decided by a single split-second moment.

"Don't get carried away by emotion or anything else. You have to stay locked in for the full 100 minutes, maybe even longer. One moment is all it takes in a final. When two quality sides go head to head, just one single incident is enough to decide the entire match," stated the defender, who previously won three Danish Superliga titles during his spell at FC Copenhagen.

Indonesia Look To End Thailand Hoodoo

Thailand arrive at this final with vastly more experience competing for Southeast Asian regional titles.

The War Elephants have lifted the AFF Cup on 7 separate occasions. By contrast, Indonesia is still searching for their first ever senior international trophy, having finished runners-up a record six times in this exact tournament.

These six near misses occurred in the 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2016 and 2020 editions of the competition.

History of finals held at GBK also does not favour Indonesia. Back during the 2002 AFF Cup, these same two nations met in the tournament final right here in Jakarta.

Indonesia had fought back from being 2 goals down at half time, with strikes from Yaris Riyadi and Gendut Doni Christiawan levelling the scores at full time and forcing the match to penalties.

However Thailand ultimately walked away as champions, winning the shootout 4-2.

24 years on from that disappointment, Indonesia once again face Thailand in a major final at this very same stadium.

Herdman has framed this fixture as a historic chance for this current generation of players to rewrite this narrative.

The last time Indonesia's senior men's national team won an official title was at the 1991 SEA Games in Manila, where Garuda defeated Thailand 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 deadlock across 120 minutes.

Since that date, Indonesia's senior men's side has not lifted another regional football trophy.

While Indonesia did win men's football gold at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, that title was won by the U-22 national squad and does not end the long trophy drought for the senior team.

Herdman Targets To Reverse Head-To-Head Record

Away from tournament history, Indonesia also face an uphill battle against Thailand's superior head-to-head record.

According to Kita Garuda statistics, across the last 35 competitive meetings between the nations, Indonesia has recorded 13 wins, while Thailand leads the tally with 19 victories.

Indonesia's last win over Thailand also dates back many years: the last time Garuda defeated their rivals was in the first leg of the 2016 AFF Cup final.

This record has been cited as extra motivation for Herdman. He has told his players they are not just competing for a trophy on Monday - they are also fighting to break a decades-long negative trend against this opponent.

"They will arrive here confident, that is certain, they carry that history of results against us. For this group of players, turning that trend around is a very important milestone we are aiming for," stated the coach, who famously guided Canada back to the FIFA World Cup in 2022 after a 36 year absence.

No Changes To Winning Formula

Indonesia's path to the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup Final was far from smooth sailing.

Garuda opened the tournament with a solid 2-0 win over Singapore, however their performance was disjointed, and the side had not yet found the playing identity Herdman was working to implement.

In their second group fixture, Indonesia were held to a 0-0 draw against Malaysia. A red card shown to Thom Haye left the side at a numerical disadvantage and killed off hopes of taking all three points.

Yet Herdman viewed this difficult setback as a positive turning point for the squad.

He explained that navigating tough situations like this builds valuable experience for a team. It forces players to fight harder, and forges team unity when everyone operates under shared pressure.

"We needed moments exactly like that," the British-born coach remarked.

Indonesia's turnaround arrived when they faced Bangladesh in their final group match.

Garuda produced a far more aggressive, cohesive performance, finally displaying the structured game plan that had been missing in the first two fixtures. Wide attacking play remained their primary weapon, but the side began to show far more variation in build up and final delivery.

The result was a dominant display that saw Indonesia score 9 goals, with Mitchell Baker stealing the show by netting 5 of those.

Herdman also made key tactical adjustments to the line up for this match: Rizky Ridho returned to the centre of defence, while Calvin Verdonk was moved back to his natural left full back position.

These changes immediately unlocked Indonesia's form across the rest of the tournament.

For this reason, Herdman has confirmed he will stick with this now balanced, effective line up for the final. The classic football principle of 'never change a winning team' is the clear approach going into this title decider.

The only possible forced change will come up front, if Ole Romeny is ruled unfit to play.

The Fortuna Sittard striker has been one of Indonesia's most important players this tournament, registering 1 goal and 4 assists so far. However his potential absence will not end Indonesia's hopes of victory.

Garuda still have Rayhan Hannan, Luke Vickery and Egy Maulana Vikry all available to step into the attacking line up.

Egy himself has already played a critical role in Indonesia's run to the final, with the forward involved in the winning goal that secured the nation's spot in this title match.

All eyes will now turn to Gelora Bung Karno on Monday night. In front of a sell out crowd of tens of thousands of supporters, the Indonesia National Team has the chance to end this decades-long wait for silverware, and write a brand new chapter of Indonesian football history under John Herdman.