Jakarta. Marselino Ferdinan reminded Indonesia's supporters not to get carried away after the team's crucial 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for the Asian zone.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who scored both goals in the match, said that while the win was important, the Garuda squad still has a long way to go in their World Cup qualification journey.

"Our journey does not stop here (stopping after the win against Saudi Arabia), our goal is still far. We still have four more matches to maximize," the Oxford United player said.

Marselino's two goals—one in the 32nd minute after outmaneuvering the Saudi defense, and the other a chip shot in the 57th minute—secured the win for Indonesia. Despite being reduced to 10 players after Justin Hubner’s second yellow card in the 89th minute, Indonesia held their ground to move to third place in Group C, with six points, while Saudi Arabia dropped to fourth due to a lower goal difference.

In the post-match press conference, Marselino thanked the supporters but stressed that the victory was the result of a team effort and improvements made after their previous match against Japan.

“We evaluated the match against Japan and tried to handle all the pressure. Everyone can see, we played very well today,” he explained.

With four matches remaining, including away games against Australia and a home match against Bahrain in March 2025, Marselino and the team are focused on their performance to secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup.

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