Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday described Indonesia's continued failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup as a "hard truth," urging the country to learn from the success of smaller nations such as Cape Verde, which reached the tournament despite having a population of just over half a million.

Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country with nearly 300 million people, has never qualified for the men's World Cup finals. By contrast, Cape Verde, with a population of about 530,000, earned widespread praise for its spirited performances after advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament.

"Our country has the fourth-largest population in the world, nearly 300 million people, but I am honestly saddened that our football has still not reached the World Cup," Prabowo said in Jakarta.

"This is a hard truth. Even a small country like Cape Verde has qualified. Its population may be smaller than that of Sumedang Regency. We need to reflect on this," he said.

Prabowo said dwelling on disappointment or assigning blame would not solve the problem, calling instead for an objective assessment of the structural factors behind Indonesia's underachievement.

He urged the government and football stakeholders to adopt a data-driven approach and study countries that have succeeded despite limited populations and resources.

"Why can a small country qualify for the World Cup? Where do their coaches come from? We need to identify the reasons first, and only then can we take the right actions," Prabowo said.

He said understanding the factors behind the success of countries such as Cape Verde would help Indonesia develop a more effective long-term strategy to improve its competitiveness and eventually qualify for the World Cup.

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