Australia vs Indonesia Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Socceroos to edge Indonesia in crucial World Cup qualifier

It's been a wild qualifying campaign in Group C, with just one point separating second from last, with five nations jostling for the second automatic qualifying spot behind runaway leaders Japan. There's not too many instances where the last-placed team (China) has won more games than the four teams above them, further illustrating just how tight Group C has been.

I think it's safe to say the Socceroos have been extremely underwhelming for the duration of the qualifying campaign, with Graham Arnold jumping ship and Tony Popovic taking charge - and nothing's really changed. Popovic has now had a few months to start moulding his squad as he sees fit and there's certainly been some controversial selections for these upcoming fixtures.

At the end of the day, if Australia can't beat Indonesia at home, they don't deserve to be at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Socceroos haven't conceded a single goal in their five previous meetings with Indonesia, including a dour 0-0 stalemate in the reverse fixture in Jakarta in September 2024. The best bet for this clash is BTTS - No. I'm backing the Socceroos' defence to hold firm and dig out a scrappy win to nil.

Australia have won six of the previous nine meetings between the teams, but the most-recent encounter resulted in a 0-0 draw in September last year. Indonesia's only win over the Socceroos came via a 1-0 triumph at home in 1981.

Stale. Unconvincing. Zero creativity. Uninspiring. Flat. Slow. These are just some of the words that best describe the Socceroo's performances so far in Group C, which leaves them in an extremely precarious position coming into these two upcoming fixtures against Indonesia at home and China in Shanghai next week.

Australia launched their qualifying campaign with a shock 1-0 loss at home to Bahrain and things really haven't got any better.

Graham Arnold resigned after the subsequent 0-0 draw against Indonesia, with Popovic taking over and earning a crucial 3-1 victory at home over China in his first match in charge.

However, Popovic has overseen three consecutive draws coming into this showdown. A 1-1 result away to Japan was solid, but 0-0 and 2-2 draws against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were disappointing.

It could have been so much worse, with the Socceroos inexplicably conceding two goals in as many minutes against Bahrain in the most-recent clash, with Kusini Yengi equalising in the 96th minute to secure a point.

Joe Gauci, Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati and Riley McGree are all sidelined with injury, with Alex Grant, Kai Trewin, Nectarios Triantis and Ryan Teague earning call-ups to the Socceroos' squad for the first time.

Popovic has again been accused of showing favouritism to his former A-League club Melbourne Victory, with the likes of Daniel Arzani, Nishan Velupillay, Jason Geria and Teague all in indifferent form. Arzani and Velupillay are barely earning starts for Victory in the A-League at the moment.

Still no update on Alexander Robertson and his 'paperwork' situation, while boom teenager Nestory Irankunda is again missing despite showcasing some great form for Grasshopper in the Swiss Super League. Max Balard is also a strange omission after impressing for NAC Breda in the Dutch top flight.

Adam Taggart, Kusuni Yengi and Brandon Borrello will likely be battling for the much-maligned No. 9 role. Noah Botic, Adrian Segecic and Archie Goodwin can count themselves unlucky to miss out after playing starring roles in the A-League this season.

Indonesia find themselves in an encouraging position to qualify for what would be just their second ever World Cup, with their only previous appearance coming when they were under Dutch rule back in 1938.

Former Barcelona star and Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert stepped in as manager from January and will now oversee his first games in charge.

Currently in third spot on the ladder, Indonesia harbour realistic ambitions of finishing in the playoff spots, but an upset over the Socceroos would propel them into the second automatic qualifying position behind Japan.

Indonesia secured a brilliant 2-0 victory at home over Saudi Arabia in their last qualifying game, but they did lose 1-0 to both Vietnam and the Phillipines in ASEAN Championship fixtures in December, resulting in the previous manager being sacked.

Incredibly, the Indonesian squad actually has more market value than Australia, with several players competing across Europe, including Oxford United pair Marselino Ferdinan and Ole Romeny. Brisbane Roar winger Rafael Struick is also in the squad.