Top 3 Sports: Indonesia Draws Against Saudi Arabia, Controversial Referee
Top 3 Sports: Indonesia Draws Against Saudi Arabia, Controversial Referee
The Indonesian national team won one point in the 2026 World Cup Qualification away match against Saudi Arabia. (Doc. SAFF)
HOLIDAY NEWS --
The three most popular news stories on the CNNIndonesia.com sports channel in the last 24 hours were dominated by material from the Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia match in the third phase of the 2026 World Cup Qualification.
The Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia match took place at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Thursday (5/9) evening local time or Friday (6/9) early morning Indonesian time.
Readers' attention to this match is very high, indicating the enthusiasm of the Indonesian National Team's work in the struggle to win tickets to the 2026 World Cup, including before the match took place.
Here are the three most popular news stories on the CNNIndonesia.com sports channel in the last 24 hours:
The Indonesian national team achieved a draw when they visited Saudi Arabia after taking the lead in the 19th minute through a goal from Ragnar Oratmangoen. Saudi Arabia equalized in the 45+5 minute through Musab Al Juwayr's shot which turned after hitting Calvin Verdonk's body.
Thanks to this result, Indonesia is temporarily ranked fourth with one point. The referee in the Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia match was known some time before the match took place. The referee from Jordan Adham Makhadmeh was the figure in charge of the Green Falcons vs Garuda match.
Adham Makhadmeh is no stranger to Indonesian football fans because the referee also serves as a foreign referee in the Indonesian League 1 season 2024/2025. This season, Adham Makhadmeh has been trusted to lead four League 1 matches, namely Semen Padang vs Borneo FC (12/8), Barito vs Madura United (16/8), PSS vs Persik (19/8), and Persib vs Arema (25/ 8).
After the Persib vs Arema match, Makhadmeh, who issued nine yellow cards, was protested by the Maung Bandung manager.
Bahrain made a surprise by beating Australia 1-0 in the first Group C match of the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualification at the Cbus Super Stadium, Thursday (5/9) evening WIB.
Australia, which was aiming for a home win, instead had to play with 10 men in the 77th minute after Kusini Yengi received a second yellow card for fouling Sayed Baqer. Bahrain could take advantage of the advantage in the number of players, who finally took the lead in the 89th minute. The ball that the Bahrain player directed towards the face of the goal actually hit the central defender, Harry Souttar.
The ball then moved wildly and outwitted the Socceroos goalkeeper, Mathew Ryan. He couldn't prevent the ball from going into the goal which changed the score to 1-0.
Top 3 Sports: Indonesia Imbang Lawan Arab Saudi, Wasit Kontroversial
Timnas Indonesia meraih satu poin dalam laga tandang Kualifikasi Piala Dunia 2026 melawan Arab Saudi. (Dok. SAFF)
Pertandingan Arab Saudi vs Indonesia berlangsung di Stadion King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Kamis (5/9) malam waktu setempat atau Jumat (6/9) dini hari waktu Indonesia.
Sorotan pembaca terhadap laga ini begitu tinggi menandai antusiasme kiprah Timnas Indonesia dalam perjuangan meraih tiket Piala Dunia 2026, termasuk sejak sebelum pertandingan berlangsung.
Berikut tiga berita terpopuler di kanal olahraga CNNIndonesia.com dalam 24 jam terakhir:
Timnas Indonesia meraih hasil imbang saat bertandang meladeni Arab Saudi setelah sempat unggul lebih dulu pada menit ke-19 melalui gol Ragnar Oratmangoen.
Arab Saudi menyamakan kedudukan pada menit 45+5 lewat sepakan Musab Al Juwayr yang berbelok arah setelah mengenai badan Calvin Verdonk.
Berkat hasil ini, Indonesia untuk sementara menempati peringkat keempat dengan satu poin.
Pengadil dalam laga Arab Saudi vs Indonesia sudah diketahui beberapa saat sebelum pertandingan berlangsung. Wasit asal Yordania Adham Makhadmeh menjadi sosok yang bertugas dalam laga Green Falcons vs Garuda.
Adham Makhadmeh tidak asing bagi pecinta sepak bola Indonesia karena sang pengadil juga bertugas sebagai wasit asing di Liga 1 Indonesia musim 2024/2025.
Musim ini, Adham Makhadmeh telah dipercaya memimpin empat pertandingan Liga 1 yaitu Semen Padang vs Borneo FC (12/8), Barito vs Madura United (16/8), PSS vs Persik (19/8), dan Persib vs Arema (25/8).
Usai laga Persib vs Arema, Makhadmeh yang mengeluarkan sembilan kartu kuning sempat diprotes manajer Maung Bandung.
Bahrain membuat kejutan dengan mengalahkan Australia 1-0 pada laga perdana Grup C babak ketiga Kualifikasi Piala Dunia 2026 di Cbus Super Stadium, Kamis (5/9) malam WIB.
Australia yang mengincar kemenangan kandang malah harus bermain dengan 10 orang pada menit ke-77 setelah Kusini Yengi mendapat kartu kuning kedua usai melanggar Sayed Baqer.
Keunggulan jumlah pemain bisa dimanfaatkan Bahrain yang akhirnya bisa unggul lebih dulu pada menit ke-89. Bola yang diarahkan pemain Bahrain ke muka gawang justru mengenai bek tengah, Harry Souttar.
Bola lantas bergerak liar dan mengecoh kiper Socceroos, Mathew Ryan. Ia tidak bisa mencegah bola masuk ke gawang yang mengubah skor jadi 1-0.
